THE city council will debate opening more night shelters after thousands of people signed a petition calling for action.

John Hadman has collected more than 3,700 signatures in a call for more night shelters and existing ones to be kept open for longer.

Two Green Party councillors have supported the debate, Tom Druitt, who proposed the discussion, and David Gibson, who seconded the motion.

Mr Hadman, 77, from Hove, said: “I would like to see action taken now and for the night shelters to be open until the end of March.

“The council has already failed rough sleepers during some of the coldest nights this winter.

“I will be accompanied by homeless people who I hope will have the opportunity to share their stories with councillors on the day.”

Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) is the method used by the council to judge when to open existing night shelters in the city. SWEP is executed when the temperature is predicted to drop below zero degrees for three consecutive nights.

Night shelters operate from a number of venues in the city and the service is co-ordinated by the Brighton Housing Trust and St Mungo’s.

In December, it was announced that Brighton and Hove would benefit from £1.25 million of Government funding to tackle its worst homeless crisis to date.

In an email seen by The Argus, the council's commissioning and performance manager Jenny Knight told campaigners she understood people’s wish for a permanent winter shelter in Brighton but the council did not have the buildings, staffing or funding to run such a service.

Cllr David Gibson, Green group housing spokesman, said: "Our motion is a tribute to John’s tireless campaigning.

"We are calling on the city council to follow the lead taken in places like Manchester and open up vacant council buildings to shelter homeless people. I hope all parties will support it.

"Every time I see a homeless person lying in a shop front I feel ashamed that the world’s sixth richest country can’t support people who have slipped through the cracks.

“The council is short of money, but we need to build more partnerships with charities and volunteers to make resources stretch further.

"However unless we tackle the high rents, insecure tenancies and loss of social housing that are fuelling homelessness, it’s going to be an uphill struggle.”

It is estimated that around 144 people are sleeping rough in Brighton and Hove.

The council will debate the issue at 5.30pm at Hove Town Hall.