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 Thursday, 9 January, 2003, 14:16 GMT
Homeless turned away from shelter
A homeless man begging
Charity workers are forced to send people elsewhere
Homeless people looking for shelter from the cold weather are being turned away every day from a charity in Coventry due to a lack of beds.

Coventry Cyrenians estimate there are around 2,000 people looking for shelter in the city, but they only have 150 beds.

Workers have to send people to Birmingham and Leicester because they don't have the room.

The charity's director Mike Fowler said five years ago the centre had between 600 and 1,000 beds.

"Over the years agencies which have provided beds for us have had to withdraw their services due to a lack of government funding."

He said the number of people who could be said to be looking for shelter in the city had stayed at around 2,000 for the past five years.

"We are turning people away every day and there isn't a lot we can do about it, it's something that the government needs to address."


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22 Dec 02 | England
19 Dec 02 | England
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