Surviving on the streets in sub-zero temperatures

Rough sleeping in Nottinghamshire’s market towns and villages surged last year, according to figures seen by the BBC.

Some men and women spent months sleeping in tents or doorways. Others sheltered in derelict buildings, cars and even tunnels.

The county outreach team for the charity Framework identified 592 different people who spent at least one night outdoors in 2024, a 76% increase on the previous year.

Support workers say many of those people need help to maintain a tenancy or deal with addiction and not enough specialist accommodation is available.

We joined Harriet Revill and Richard Stafford on their street outreach patrol in the district of Ashfield.

It is 05:00 GMT in Hucknall. The overnight temperature fell to -3C.

Harriet and Richard are checking rough-sleeping hotspots and responding to calls to the charity’s rough sleeper hotline.

Behind a drop-in centre, there is abandoned bedding. They then check a derelict cottage where two girls were found sleeping next to broken floorboards and dangerous wiring.

Nearby, a large blue tent is covered in think frost. Harriet announces their arrival.

“We’re going to have to have a look inside the tent just to make sure you’re alright,” she calls out.

It is empty. They might have found somewhere warmer. Conditions like this can be lethal.

A few years ago, Richard found the body of a homeless man in a tent in Retford.

“It was minus six,” he said. “It was upsetting, really horrific. Being street homeless shouldn’t be a death sentence”.

Another man has bedded down in a nearby retail park. Harriet says he has been sleeping rough for years, and they sometimes find him without a blanket.

Harriet asks whether there is anything she can do to help him move indoors. He tells her he is not interested but accepts the offer of a hot drink.

Nearby, a man called Rich says he spent the night sheltering behind a stack of supermarket trolleys because the CCTV cameras make him feel safer.

“It’s absolutely freezing mate, and sleeping on the hard floor, it’s horrible,” he said.

“It’s scary. I’ve been beat up, [urinated] on, all sorts. Absolutely horrible.”

Rich says he has been sleeping rough since last summer and wants to move into supported accommodation.

But he is not a priority for the local council because he comes from a different area, and he tells me he missed his last appointment.

As Rich thanks me for talking to him, Harriet brings him a hot chocolate and a sausage muffin.

Then she checks his mobile number to arrange an assessment to find him the right support.

A few miles north, they find another empty tent in woodland in Kirkby-in-Ashfield. It has been there since last July.

There are three garden chairs and empty milk cartoons. Beside a makeshift barbecue lie empty baked bean cans and a pair of frozen shoes.

Richard says there are a mixture of reasons why people are sleeping rough. Some cannot afford rising rents and struggle to find someone to stay with.

“We are [also] seeing quite a few people being released from prison onto the street,” he said.

“There isn’t the right kind of accommodation with support,” Harriet adds.

Another man has been reported sleeping in a carport in Sutton-in-Ashfield. He tells the outreach team it is his first night on the streets.

Harriet tells him how to make a housing appointment and offers to help him get a sleeping bag, clothing and a cheap mobile phone.

Nearby, they check a damp garage where a man has been sleeping for several months. Someone has let him stay in their car because it is so cold.

“We really need to start looking for somewhere to get you inside,” Harriet tells him.

A handwritten sign on the nearby council flats says in all-capitals: “NO ROUGH SLEEPERS THANKS!”

Inside, they find a couple and a single woman bedded down on an upstairs landing.

Another hotspot is a tunnel beneath a busy road around the corner from Kings Mill Hospital.

No-one is there but they find a pillow and what looks like a hospital blanket next to a graffiti-covered wall.

Framework’s deputy chief executive, Claire McGonigle, says the housing crisis is adding to existing challenges for people who struggle to get a tenancy.

“If you’ve experience countless trauma, if you’ve been released from prison, if you’re battling addiction…affording it, navigating the benefits landscape, if you’re literally trying stay alive, these things are really difficult,” she said.

But Richard says seeing people find long-term accommodation makes it all worthwhile.

“That’s the most rewarding part, when you’ve got that wrap-around support around somebody, and you see them thriving,” he said.

If you have been affected by any of this issues in this article, advice and support is available via the BBC Action Line.