The Simon Community has said the number of people entering emergency accommodation here continues to grow month after month.

The charity has released a new report this morning which highlights the pressure points that need to be addressed to ease the current housing crises.

At the moment 6,000 people are in emergency accommodation, including almost 2,000 children.

Niamh Randall from Simon said tenants needed greater protection from vulture funds, that rents here have risen by over 30% and the supply of rental properties has fallen by over 70% since 2012.

She said: “What we know is that being in emergency accommodation and experiencing homelessness is hugely traumatic and stressful, so we need to limit that as much as we can.

“We know that building housing takes time, so we need to look at new ways of increasing supply.

“Addressing the housing and homeless crisis must be the top priority of the next government.”