CHARITY Shelter is urging prospective MPs in the North-East to sign a pledge that they will help tackle the problem of homelessness.

Shelter claims that 840 families in the region are being housed in emergency accommodation - a figure that has risen ten per cent in the past year.

The charity said that children who were homeless or live in bad housing were especially vulnerable and frequently missed out on school, were bullied or suffered health problems as a result of squalid conditions.

It is asking election candidates to push for the Government to invest in more affordable homes to help those at the sharp end of the housing crisis.

Last year, Shelter revealed for the first time that more than a million children are growing up in overcrowded, unfit or emergency housing - about 50,000 of whom live in the North-East.

Adam Sampson, director of Shelter, said: "Britain's housing crisis is biting hard.

"Children in the North-East and throughout the country are suffering in appalling conditions that are robbing them of a fair chance in life.

"Shelter is calling on parliamentary candidates in the region to sign our pledge and help create a better future for those families who need a decent home to call their own."