Figures released by the Department of Communities and Local Government revealed that there are 103 rough sleepers in Sussex, according to local authority counts and estimates.

Brighton and Hove had the highest number of rough sleepers with 37, while 15 were reported by Chichester District Council and 11 in Crawley.

The number of rough sleepers in the county has risen by a third since autumn 2010 although a Government spokeswoman said that new methods had been applied this year to get a more accurate figure for rough sleepers.