THE number of people sleeping rough in Darlington is to be monitored as part of a new strategy, just weeks after a charity said the homelessness problem was "massive".

Under Darlington Borough Council's new homelessness and housing advice strategy, officers will count, monitor and analyse the extent of "rough sleeping" in the area, and introduce measures to tackle the problem.

The strategy also outlines some of the existing homeless figures, which show that during the past year, at some point 679 families or individuals claimed to be homeless in the town, with 247 of those accepted as being unintentionally homeless.

Ten per cent were 16 and 17 years old and 27 per cent were under 21.

Dale Thompson, housing services manager, said: "We need to establish the extent of rough sleepers in Darlington.

"It doesn't just mean people sleeping on the streets, but many other instances, for example people having to sleep on their friends' floors.

"We need to start off tackling the problem with a survey of some description and then work in partnership with social services and voluntary organisations to tackle this emotive subject."

Only two weeks ago, the Reverend Dr John Elliston, of Grange Road Baptist Church, where homeless charity Nightstop Darlington is based, said that homelessness was a massive problem in Darlington.

He said: "Just because you don't see many people sleeping in doorways doesn't mean there is no homelessness.

"People may sleep on friends' sofas, or in their cars, and there are many others in accommodation which is just unsuitable for them."

Other parts of the council's homelessness strategy include:

* A strategy for combating youth homelessness in Darlington;

* A scheme for the settlement of ex-offenders;

* A domestic violence forum being prepared and new housing procedures for victims;

* Housing information being prepared in a variety of languages for asylum seekers;

* Schemes to identify the most vulnerable homeless people.

Over the past two years, the council has also halved the number of people having to live in bed and breakfast accommodation.

It hopes to hit the Government's target of having no homeless families in bed and breakfast accommodation, except in an emergency, by March 2004.