CHARITY bosses are demanding more emergency shelter for people sleeping rough, after it emerged that an increasing number of people are being turned away from the region's homeless hostels.

The Salvation Army now has ten people asking for every bed at each of its four centres in the North-East - and the charity is forced to simply give the majority of them some food, a sleeping bag and then send them back on to the streets.

The growing crisis was put into sharp focus last week by the death of alcoholic Terry McGann, whose body was found in sub-zero temperatures in Darlington town centre.

Geoff Platt, of the Salvation Army, said: "In some areas of the North-East, there is a greater number of homeless people than at any time before.

"We have had professional footballers, teachers - all kinds of people in our hostels.

"The temperatures at the moment are frightening. But if we can't provide a bed, we provide a sleeping bag and food and then have to turf them out."

One of the greatest concerns for campaigners is the "hidden homeless" - those people sleeping on friends' sofas, in sheds or cars.

Although more resources than ever before are being thrown at the homelessness problem, there are still demands for more emergency accommodation.

Salvation Army centres in Darlington, Newcastle and Sunderland, and a women's facility in North Tyneside, are all full to capacity.

Government action is coming via the Homelessness Act 2002, which ordered local authorities to draw up a five-year strategy to tackle the problem in their area.

It extended the groups considered to be priorities, including ex-prisoners, soldiers and youngsters leaving care homes.

The Government's Rough Sleepers' Unit also aims to scrap the use of bed and breakfast hotels as accommodation for the homeless by March next year - but it is having little impact on the North-East.