Shelter helpline calls increase by 50,000 in a year

The number of calls to Shelter's helpline has jumped by nearly 50,000 in the space of a year, the charity has reported.

The charity said it received 457,700 calls in the financial year 2014/15 - equating to more than 1,200 calls a day.

Shelter said that one in four (26%) of the calls it answered came from people who faced losing their home within a month.

In total, more than 168,000 people spoke to Shelter's helpline in 2014/15 and the charity received 48,773 more calls than it had during the previous financial year.

Previous analysis by the charity suggests that more than 100,000 children in Britain will be homeless on Christmas Day, marking an increase of nearly 15,000 in the last year.

The charity said that a shortage of affordable homes is putting an upward pressure on the demand for its services.

Nadeem Khan, a helpline adviser for Shelter, said: "Sadly, more and more people are coming to us every day, desperate for support."

Shelter said it is partnering with Marks & Spencer again this year to raise money for the helpline. M&S will donate 5% of every sale of its Christmas "food on the move" range to Shelter's helpline. The initiative has raised £2 million for Shelter since it started in 2005.

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "Since 2010 the Government has made over £1 billion available to prevent and tackle homelessness and support vulnerable households.

"This has helped prevent almost a million households from becoming homeless, with mortgage repossession claims at 49% fewer than this time last year, which is the lowest annual figure since 1987.

"We are determined to build more homes - which is why over the next five years we are committed to deliver 275,000 extra affordable homes - the fastest rate of delivery for 20 years."