Homeless charity backs Blackpool’s crackdown on tent sleepers

The council announced that tents used by rough sleepers will be removed in September in a bid to prevent tent cities from appearing in the resort.

Lynne Williams, leader of the town’s Labor council, told BBC Radio Lancashire: “I don’t think we’re as bad off as other places, but it’s enough to warrant action.”

“The aim is to try to accommodate them and find suitable accommodation for them.

“I don’t think it’s a case of moving people somewhere else; instead, it’s about trying to engage with those who are experiencing homelessness and seeing how we can help them.”

He said the council’s “first instinct” was to “provide support” to help homeless people living in tents get the right services.

But if people are not willing to accept help, he said authorities “need to take measures to ensure that we have the right feeling about the town, especially tourism”. But for our residents, that’s not right, and that’s why we ‘Brought in these forces.’