NINE people are currently sleeping rough in the city - according to the latest council count.

Brighton and Hove City Council claim that nine people are currently sleeping on the city streets, after revealing the figure as part of their bimonthly count.

It follows a count carried out in November last year that found 27 people sleeping rough in the city - a 69 per cent decrease on figures for November 2019.

The council carry out a street tally every two months, with the latest on January 28 finding numbers had dropped further.

It comes as street outreach services for rough sleepers will be provided by Change Grow Live, a charity which already provides services in the city, from April 1.

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Vicky McFarlane, Brighton and Hove mentor coordinator at Change Grow Live, said: “Our street outreach team is looking forward to working across Brighton and Hove, as part of a city-wide effort to support the street homeless to find safe accommodation and accomplish their goals.

“The support on offer to homeless people in Brighton and Hove during the pandemic has had a significant impact, reducing the number of people sleeping on the streets by two thirds.

"We look forward to working together with charities and organisations across Brighton and Hove to widen our reach further, so that we can actively prevent people falling into homelessness and support more people to find safe, affordable routes off the streets.”

The charity – which already provides a number of services in Brighton and Hove – will take over as the city's street outreach partner from St Mungo’s, whose contract ended on March 31.

During winter, as part of the Covid response, St Mungo’s worked in the city seven days a week.

From April 1, street outreach work will go back to the standard service of six days a week.

The street outreach service was recommissioned from the date the existing contract ends following "standard procedure and an open procurement process".