Dozens of people were homeless in Blackburn with Darwen on any given night in 2022, new estimates suggest.

Shelter, a leading homelessness charity, has used government statistics, Freedom of Information requests, and data from the membership charity Homeless Link to work out how many people were without a home in the borough last year.

It estimates 76 people were homeless in Blackburn with Darwen on any given night in 2022 – including 31 children.

This was equivalent to one in every 2,000 people in the area.

Around 65 homeless people in Blackburn with Darwen were in temporary accommodation, while 11 were estimated to be sleeping rough.

These figures do not include various forms of hidden or unofficial homelessness, such as sofa surfing or overcrowded homes.

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said the charity is expecting a rise in homelessness in 2023.

“A cold doorway or a grotty hostel room is not a home, but this is reality for too many people today,” she said.

“Our frontline advisers are working tirelessly to help people who are desperate to escape homelessness – from the parents doing all they can to provide some shred of a normal family life while stuck in an emergency B&B, to the person terrified of another night sleeping rough.

“With private rents and living costs continuing to soar, thousands of people are not just facing a winter of worry, they are at risk of losing the roof over their head.”

The estimates suggest around 2,400 people were sleeping rough across England, with 15,000 in hostels or supported accommodation and nearly 250,000 people – mainly families – living in temporary accommodation.

The overall figure is down slightly from the previous year – 274,000 were estimated to be homeless on any given night in 2021.

Despite a slight drop in the number of people in temporary accommodation compared to the year before, the use of temporary accommodation has risen by an “alarming” 74 per cent over the last decade, Shelter said.

Labour's shadow homelessness and rough sleeping minister Paula Barker said the figures were “shameful”.

“The Conservatives promised to prevent homelessness and end rough sleeping by the end of next year, but they are completely and utterly failing, with devastating consequences for thousands of families and children,” she said.

“This tragic trend will only continue unless the government gets an urgent grip on the crisis.”

Across the North West, 14,619 people were estimated to be homeless on any given night in 2022 – one in every 507 residents in the region.

A government spokesperson said it had given £366 million to local authorities to help prevent evictions and provide temporary housing.

“Over half a million households have been prevented from becoming homeless since 2018 through the Homelessness Reduction Act,” they added.

“We are also providing significant support to help people through these tough times by holding down energy bills and delivering up to £1,350 in direct cash payments to millions of vulnerable households.”