COUNCIL officials and volunteers took to the streets of Bury last night (January 15) in a bid to find out just how bad the borough's homelessness problem is.

And their search through the darkness could lead to a little light at the end of Bury Council's cash crisis tunnel.

At the moment Bury does not get extra funding from the Government to help tackle the problem of homeless people sleeping rough on the streets.

But that is because they are not sure just how bad the problem is. The first major survey started at 11.30pm last night.

It involved councillors, officers and members of voluntary groups including Bury Unemployed Workers Centre, who initially put forward the idea. Other groups included Bury Young People's Housing Link and Bury Church Housing Group.

Mrs Sarah McCarthy, housing and community care manager at Bury Council, said the data was just a small part of a much bigger strategy being overseen by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's "super department" of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR).

"It comes from the Rough Sleeper Initiative, which started out in London and has since spread nationwide," she explained. "The survey will supply us with some data, but there is far more to it than that." Other information including council house lettings, housing association lettings and numbers of hostels in the area will also be included in the bid under the initiative.

Last night's count was mainly organised by staff at the Unemployed Workers' Centre, where the research will be based.

Organiser Mr Josh Walsh explained: "People will be meeting here and we will tell them where to go, what to do, who to count and how to avoid any trouble."

Mr Walsh said the centre had got involved because they seemed to have more contact with rough sleepers than any other agency in the area.

"We have asked people we come into contact with where they sleep, and we have gathered information through the grapevine," he explained.

"The police have also been very helpful, with community officers from each of the townships telling us where they have come across rough sleepers."

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