A CHARITY for the homeless is bracing itself for an increase of people left out in the cold in the new year.

Workers for the Durham City-based charity Moving On say the area's reputation as an affluent, leafy, historic settlement is hiding an increasing number of homeless people.

And such homelessness sees an annual rise over the festive period, with relationship breakdowns and domestic violence flinging young people out into the unknown.

Clare Elliott, from Moving On, said: "Once the dark nights draw in, young people tend to spend more time at home.

"And for those facing family issues or poor relationships with parents, these issues are heightened at this time, often leading to total breakdown and young people being asked to leave or thrown out."

Stacy, 24, who was homeless for two years before seeking the help of Moving On, said: "There is definitely more stress in families over the Christmas period, and they contributed to my decision to leave home.

"I didn't know what to do or where to go when I left. It didn't feel like Christmas at all.

"The process of getting out of homelessness takes a long time, it involves lots of debating and there's a very long waiting list for housing."

Durham City Council officials find it hard to say how many people are homeless, as many move around and slip through the authority's lists. Still more are staying with friends and are labelled the hidden homeless.

Charity Centrepoint reports show the age group 18 to 25 is most vulnerable, with 2,240 young people in County Durham having used housing support agencies in the past year - 281 of those were from Durham City.

The studies also show that many seeking housing support have been homeless before, showing homelessness to be a vicious cycle. The most common cause of homelessness by a long way was found to be relationship breakdown, with domestic violence coming second.

Sean McDonnell, of Durham Action for Single Housing (Dash), said: "In Durham we have the problem of the isolation of the surrounding pit villages, where communities are isolated and there is often little work.

"Many of the wards surrounding Durham City are in the top 20 per cent of the most deprived in England."