MORE tents have been pitched on a public lawn.

The two latest appeared on Hove Lawns last week.

A large encampment of tents formed on the seafront site last summer as homeless men and women looked for a place to stay.

They were removed from the lawns by the police and Brighton and Hove City Council after a resident complained.

The people living in the tents at the time argued that people had “got the wrong idea”.

One, Katherine Whittaker, said: “Nobody wants to be here, everyone’s trying to integrate with the charities and services and move on. We’re all hoping to get a home. What you don’t realise is that it could happen to you. Everyone here had lives and jobs before they became homeless. We have to live somewhere.”

She also said the spot made her feel safer than many other inner-city locations.

But Andy Winter, chief executive of homeless charity Brighton Housing Trust, told The Argus that tents in the city could represent a risk to both the occupants and people looking to help them.

He said: “They can actually be dangerous for the dweller and the outreach workers. The dweller can be exploited in the tent. If there is a medical emergency, no one can see them.

“Often the tents handed out by people with good intentions might not be appropriate for extreme weather conditions.”

He said the tent dwellers were the “primary concern” but outreach workers have to approach a tent not knowing who is in there or what is going on inside.

Mr Winter said: “The issue is they could be exposing themselves to a dangerous situation. That’s not saying all tent dwellers are dangerous.”

Addressing the new tents on the seafront, a Brighton and Hove City Council spokeswoman said: “We are aware of this and our team will be visiting the site.

“We have also informed our commissioned Street Outreach Service who will also go along and offer support. The council works with partner agencies and the voluntary sector to take a city-wide approach to ending the need for people to rough sleep.

“The best way to deal with this effectively is to support vulnerable people off the streets and into services that can help them rebuild their lives, which is what is happening in this case.”

She said information on tents was gathered across the city every day and a weekly meeting looked at where there were tents, what support had been offered and what action needed to be taken.

The spokeswoman said: “The decision to move on tents is always carefully considered. However, the council has limited powers to move people on and legal action can be time consuming.

“Before taking action, we look at the individual needs of people sleeping rough and the impact of the loss of community space as well as wider issues around antisocial behaviour, wellbeing and safety for all involved.”