THE number of rough sleepers in London has reached a record high with an increase of almost a fifth in a year, new data revealed today.

Some 8,855 people slept rough in the capital between April 2018 and March this year. The figures are up 18 per cent from the previous year, according to data from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain).

The research found that a total of 62 per cent of those recorded over the last year were sleeping rough for the first time.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan called the rise a “national disgrace” and blamed government policies, from welfare cuts to a lack of investment in social housing, for forcing people onto the streets.

“This cannot be ignored any longer. Government must urgently act to resolve longstanding immigration issues and provide access to accommodation and employment if we are to ever end this crisis,” Mr Khan said.

Just under half of the rough sleepers counted were from Britain. Romanians made up the biggest non-British nationality at 16 per cent.

Over a third of the new rough sleepers said they had come from having lived in private rented accommodation.

Crisis chief executive Jon Sparkes said it was “unforgivable” that more and more people are being forced to sleep rough.

The charity is campaigning for the government to scrap the Vagrancy Act, which makes rough sleeping and begging illegal in England and Wales.

Labour’s London Assembly housing spokesman Tom Copley said the cause of the increase was not a mystery.

“The government’s shameful and catastrophic legacy of damaging welfare cuts and reforms, steep underfunding of local authorities and failure to properly invest in social housing all continue to contribute to this avoidable crisis,” he said.

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said the rise “paints a truly damning picture of our housing system.”

“High rents, broken benefits and the lack of social housing options have ramped up the housing emergency, and thousands of people having to sleep on the streets in the capital is the tragic outcome,” she said.

“Ultimately you can’t solve homelessness without homes. These figures show we need urgent action. We need to see major investment in new social homes, and we are calling for the government to build three million over the next 20 years.”