A PENSIONER has started a one man campaign to help rough sleepers by creating more night shelters.

John Hadman has been handing out leaflets and started a petition for more night shelters to be opened for the homeless after The Argus reported that the number of those living on the city’s streets had almost doubled to 144.

The 77-year-old from Hove has gathered more than 2,700 signatures to date and needs 3,000 to have the issue debated by Brighton and Hove City Council.

Mr Hadman said: “The public has spoken and the council should now see the need to open up existing night shelters and create more to keep vulnerable people off the street and put less of a strain on vital public services such as the NHS.

“The night shelters have not been opening when it is very cold outside, only the churches such as All Saints have been accepting rough sleepers, but they can only take around 25 people.

“I would like to thank Lucy Trott from Justlife for her co-operation in making this petition possible.”

The petition leaflet highlights the risks homeless people deal with when sleeping rough.

It emerged last year that the city has the worst homeless toll outside London, affecting one in 69 people.

After contacting city councillors and MPs about his concerns he has received support from Peter Kyle, MP for Hove.

Mr Kyle said: “Mr Hadman has shown how one person can influence our community and it’s responses to a crisis and I am full of admiration for him.”

Mr Hadman started his petition after contacting Clare Moonan, lead councillor for homelessness, who is involved with the council’s scheme to end rough sleeping in Brighton and Hove by 2020.

A spokesman for Love Activists, a pressure group who campaign on homelessness in the city, said: “The guidance issued by the Homeless Link website states that all measures should be taken to prevent deaths on the streets by implementing Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) - where the council takes extra action to get people off the streets in bad conditions.

He said: “Brighton and Hove Council are obviously not taking the guidance fully into consideration when deciding how and when SWEP is implemented.”

Mr Hadman and Love Activists both suggest that the council should also take into account the temperature it actually feels like for a rough sleeper, rather than just air temperature.

Jenny Knight, commissioning and performance manager for adult social care at Brighton and Hove City Council, said: “I understand these concerns but SWEP operates on the actual temperature and not the temperature it feels like.

“We are monitoring the temperature very closely.”

See the petition by searching night shelter at 38Degrees.com/