CHARITIES and community groups will join forces on Tuesday to campaign and mark World Homeless Day.

Launchpad, Faith Christian Group and St Mungo's will be among the large gathering of homeless charities raising awareness for the issue.

Reading Borough Council's most recent street count revealed there were 38 per cent more rough sleepers on the streets compared to 2015 in the town centre.

Research by St Mungo's found four in 10 rough sleepers had mental health problems, 41 per cent needed help with alcohol dependency and 31 per cent had a history of drug abuse.

The 2017 campaign will see a range of charities come together to learn more about the challenges facing homeless people in the community.

Launchpad has more than 140 beds, but the charity's leader Ian Caren is concerned by the alarming number of people who will sleep on the streets in the middle of winter to fund a drug of alcohol addiction.

He said: "People will come from far and wide to beg on the streets of Reading because people are more generous and there are so many charities currently tackling the problem.

"The reality is the overwhelming majority of these people are trying to feed a drug or alcohol problem. If people are giving them money during the day, all of the rehab work we do is undone.

"The absolute vast majority have got a Class A drug addiction and we are seeing people deteriorate in front of our eyes.

"When we looked at the begging situation we could see it had got noticeably worse this year, but most of the time half of these people are already in accommodation."

Members of the public are advised to us the StreetLink mobile app if they see a homeless person or call 0808 800 4444.

Visit: www.whdreading.uk to find out more about the activities planned by Reading's charities and community organisations on October 10.