THURROCK Council's cabinet member for housing, Cllr Luke Spillman, says there is no longer any necessity for anyone to be without shelter in the borough and there are no longer any 'rough sleepers' within its borders.

He says help is at hand for every single rough sleeper who wants to get off the street and into accommodation.

Cllr Spillman said: "As a result of our innovative homelessness strategy, we have effectively called time on street homelessness in Thurrock. Under our administration, no Thurrock resident should ever be forced to sleep rough on the streets of Thurrock again.

"In Thurrock, our Outreach Team go out during the night to pick up rough sleepers. We have committed to making one offer of accommodation to every verified rough sleeper, regardless of whether or not they meet the statutory criteria of priority need. I can confirm that as of today, we do not have anyone sleeping rough within Thurrock.

"We are able to do this by investing heavily in the purchase one bed homes, within Thurrock, to ensure that we have suitable housing stock at our disposal to provide temporary accommodation.

"In addition, all those who have been accommodated are supported by our Tenancy Sustainment Officer to ensure that they do not return to the streets.

"We have wonderful local partners, such as the Friends of Essex and London Homeless, Open door and Sanctuary supported living, providing further wrap around support.

"The latest addition to our tenancy sustainment approach is our new partnership with Beam who are supporting homeless applicants back into paid employment.

"Across the country, we have witnessed a revolution in the homelessness policy. We're extremely proud to say that, in Thurrock, we aren't just managing street homelessness, we're going to end it for good."

"This Conservative administration will not waver in our commitment to ending rough sleeping. However, you can help too. If you are concerned that someone is sleeping rough, do not delay, report it here or call 0300 500 0914.