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A business group has been criticised for saying a charity's breakfast run shouldn't serve homeless people on a particular Cardiff street.

In their latest newsletter For Cardiff, which is funded by city businesses, says they have asked if the Wallich and council-run breakfast delivery could "cease operating" in St Mary Street.

The breakfast run is an initiative where staff and volunteers deliver hot food and drinks to rough sleepers.

The rough sleeper intervention team give physical items like breakfast, toiletries, and warm clothing but also advice for further help during the day.

The group's director Adrian Field says: "It is felt this is detrimental to businesses. An alternative site would result in the street being less of a hub for activity which is leading to the problems that businesses have highlighted."

The charity has reacted angrily saying they are "extremely disappointed" by the comments.

A spokesman said: "The idea that offering people basic human rights and checking on their welfare is encouraging them to sleep in the city centre is ridiculous.

"People sleep rough in areas of high footfall for a number of reasons – safety, the warmth of heating vents, the community of others, wanting to feel part of society – not the lure of a bacon roll and a polystyrene cup of coffee at 7am.

"We have real concerns about the language used and the actions suggested by some members of the business community.

"This is a hardline, hostile response to a genuine human crisis.

"We have not been asked to cease our breakfast run, nor will we cease."

Businesses have raised concerns about the impact of anti-social behaviour on them.

For Cardiff say they were petitioned, along with the council and South Wales Police , by businesses with concerns over anti-social behaviour, criminal or suspicious activity, and its impact on trade and trading conditions.

The newsletter also says privately-funded police officers will increase patrols and that an employee has been tasked to collect "needles and clear recesses of litter, faeces, discarded cardboard and quilts etc from private property".

The charity say they are a "first point of contact for people who find themselves homeless".

"It offers hot food, advice and signposting support to help get people off the streets and into accommodation," the spokesman added.

They say homelessness is rising and they are currently seeing upwards of 50 people on the streets of the city centre each morning – more than double the numbers compared to six years ago.

Welsh Government figures also show rough sleeping across Wales has increased by 45% between 2015 and 2018.

A rough sleeper talks about his experiences of homelessness:

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The charity say if businesses on St Mary Street want to reduce anti-social behaviour they should address the behaviour of those who use the bars and restaurants.

"This cost of cleaning litter, police time and pressure on the NHS is apparently acceptable as it comes via paying ‘customers’. There is clearly a double standard for those who can pay for their behaviour to be tolerated.

"Where there is criminal behaviour, such as the dealing of drugs, happening within the rough sleeping population of Cardiff we agree that this must absolutely be tackled. People sleeping rough are often targeted by drug dealers and if we can remove the supply chain we should do so.

"What we shouldn’t do is target and punish vulnerable people purely because of their housing situation.

"Being homeless leads to not being able to shower or wash and having nowhere to store your belongings. It leads to being excluded from places to use the toilet. Trauma can also lead to people using drugs or alcohol to numb the pain they are feeling.

"We need a community response to homelessness where government, the public, charities and businesses work together, not against each other. Being homeless is not a crime."