CHARITY workers claim there is an urgent need for a night shelter and a day centre to help those in the Kennet area without a permanent roof over their head.

Devizes-based charity Kennet Action for Single Homeless has started discussions with other agencies with a view to opening one or both of the centres.

Liam Pickford, manager of KASH in Northgate Street, Devizes, said homelessness is a persistent problem in the Kennet area.

The charity currently has seven clients, ranging in age from 19 to more than 40, who are sleeping rough.

It also provides housing advice and support to numerous other people who are homeless or who are threatened with homelessness.

Mr Pickford said it is impossible to know the real extent of homelessness as some people who sleep rough do not contact KASH. He said the figures could be inaccurate because of the number of 'sofa surfers' people who sleep on friends' sofas as they do not have anywhere else to go.

Mr Pickford said: "In the Kennet area there are homeless people who are living in cars, people living in caravans, people living in buses and people living in garages. People think this area is a rural idyll but there are vulnerable people who are homeless.

"We have identified a number of gaps in provision and we believe there is a need for a comprehensive day centre where people can get something to eat, a change of clothing, have a shower, socialise and get some health care."

He said there is also a need for a night shelter for homeless people to get an evening meal, a bed for the night and breakfast.

KASH is also in discussions with other agencies over the provision of a detoxification centre for those with drug or alcohol problems.

Mr Pickford said: "We have had a number of people approach us who are dependent on substances and wanting help. The normal way is for them to be referred for a community care assessment but we have had clients waiting for seven months for an initial interview.

"If someone applies for residential rehabilitation then they might wait four months. There is a shortage of detox beds.

"There is one detox bed in Green Lane Hospital in Devizes and priority for that is given to people with mental health problems."

Mr Pickford said KASH plans to do outreach work in Marlborough, Pewsey, Tidworth and Ludgershall to identify the extent of homelessness. He said the charity already knows of homeless people in Marlborough and Avebury.

Rough side of Civvy Street

STATISTICS show that approximately 40 per cent of people sleeping rough used to be in the Armed Forces.

One of those is 40-year-old Shaun who has been in Devizes just over a week. He served in the Army for 14 years as a telecommunications operator.

After he left the Army he worked for a coach building firm but his marriage deteriorated and his heroin habit got worse. Shaun, who has been clear of drugs for 18 months, said: "I was your average person. I was married, with two kids and I had a mortgage. It just shows you that anyone can become homeless."

Shaun sells The Big Issue, a magazine that allows homeless people to keep a proportion of the cover price, and with the help of KASH and its manager Liam Pickford is staying in B and B accommodation.

Shaun, originally from Dublin, said some people are scornful of those who sell The Big Issue. He said: "I don't claim any Government benefit. I might be homeless but I can work for a living.

"Some people think people who sell The Big Issue use the money to buy drugs but people who work in a normal job can also buy drugs and get high."

Shaun questioned the Government's priorities. "It can spend tens of thousands of pounds on a bomb to use in Afghanistan yet it won't spend money to set up shelters for the homeless." he said.

Wanderer wants new start

ED has been homeless for the past 11 years but says the time has come for him to get his life back together.

The 28-year-old said: "I want to get sorted out and into a normal lifestyle, that means having my own front door which I can close on the world."

Ed who has slept rough in most towns and cities in the country, has been sleeping rough in Devizes for six weeks.

He arrived in the town after he was attacked with a broken bottle in Swindon and needed eight stitches for a wound on his face.

Ed, who was brought up in London, became homeless at 17 when he left local authority care.

His ambition was to become an architect but says he does not have the patience to sit exams.

He begs to get money to live and said KASH had been excellent in giving him advice and support. He is now hoping to find some supported accommodation to get him off the streets.

In Devizes he said a night shelter and a day centre for homeless people would be valuable facilities.

Ed, who has skills in woodwork and vehicle body repairs, said his life is monotonous.

He said: "My daily routine is to get up, wander round, wander round a bit more and go to sleep. Most of the time I am tired and fed up."

Ed's possessions are a rucksack, sleeping bag and a small stove to cook basic meals on.

He said: "I have lots of friends who are homeless. It's like a community, we always try and watch each other's backs.

"I have known countless friends who have died through one thing and another, including the cold."

He said most homeless people were intelligent.

"To find yourself on the streets is was a situation a lot of people could find themselves in.

He said: "One day you could be going to work in your company car only to find you have been made redundant.

"You lose your car, your salary, and then your missus could kick you out of the house so then you have no home and you end up on the street."

For Ed the time has finally come when he wants to change his life.

He said: "I'm fed up with it. I have just got to get my life together.

"I'm 28 years old and all I have got to show for it is my rucksack."