HOUSING charity Shelter has seen an 8 per cent rise in the number of calls on its emergency helpline this year from people threatened with homelessness.

More than two in five — 44 per cent — were from households with children, according to data published today that compares its helpline statistics with last year’s.

Shelter is warning that it is expecting the number of emergency calls to rise further over Christmas.

The charity said people who rang the helpline had received eviction notices from landlords, had fallen into rent arrears, had suffered or had been at risk of domestic violence, or had been living somewhere in such disrepair that it would have been dangerous to keep staying there.

Helpline adviser Emily Dean said: “We’ve seen a rise in calls from the sharp end of the housing crisis. It’s definitely been getting worse in the last year and we expect things to be especially bad over the winter months.

“We’re speaking to families who are really just a few days away from losing their homes and finding themselves with nowhere to go. This will be even tougher for people as the freezing nights start to close in.

“There’s no doubt we’re in the middle of a housing emergency right now, so supporting our helpline has probably never been more important.”

Shadow housing minister Melanie Onn said that Shelter’s shocking statistic shows that the government’s measures on housing and for tackling the homelessness crisis are simply not working. Meanwhile ministers continue to plough on with the wider introduction of universal credit, their much criticised benefit “reform” scheme.

She said: “Changes to the benefit system, insecure rental laws and a shortage of low-cost homes are all leaving more and more people at risk of homelessness. The Tories need to wake up to the impact of their policies on the most vulnerable in society.

“Labour would do things differently.

“We’d fix the cruel universal credit system, build a million new genuinely affordable homes and offer a new deal to renters with tenancy security at its heart to offer genuine hope to those facing homelessness.”

Lamiat Sabin is Morning Star parliamentary reporter.