THE number of rough sleepers in Bournemouth has trebled in two years.

An annual count carried out by council officials on the night of November 18 identified 47 people bedded down on the town’s streets, compared to 16 in 2013 and 31 in 2014.

However, the borough claims that although the figure has increased, it is doing more to help homeless people than ever before and the situation in the town reflects a national trend.

Cllr Robert Lawton, portfolio holder for housing, went out in the town centre on the night-time survey, conducted between 12am and 4.30am, to see the extent of the problem for himself.

He paid tribute to the authority’s six-strong rough sleeping team, which helped 54 people off the streets between June and September this year.

“The numbers are not going down – they are going up quite consistently," said Cllr Lawton.

“But we don’t have a silver bullet – there are a lot of reasons why this is happening – but sometimes people just don’t want to engage.”

Council officers have advised him that the profile of rough sleepers in the town has changed.

They say more homeless people are presenting multiple complex needs including mental health problems, drug dependency, alcohol abuse and a worrying increase in the number adversely affected by so-called ‘legal highs’.

Cllr Lawton said outreach support is offered to all people rough sleeping in the borough, including those who struggle to accept the support on offer.

“The needs of these individuals are often varied and complex and the council takes its responsibility to help rough sleepers very seriously,” he added.

“We take a positive approach following national good practice to provide the help and support that these vulnerable people need. No individual should have to sleep rough and so it’s important that we reach these people quickly and effectively.”

As well as funding 200 hostel beds for rough sleepers, the council also provides the Local Welfare Assistance Fund which helps people in financial difficulty and has a policy to help homeless people who are not from Bournemouth return to their home towns.

However, a petition has accumulated more than 4,000 signatures urging the council to drop its tactic of playing bagpipe music at the train station to deter rough sleepers. But the authority has defended this strategy as “one tiny part of the wider approach”.

Residents are urged to report any rough sleepers so that they can receive help as soon as possible. This can be done by calling 0300 500 0914 or visiting www.streetlink.org.uk.