HUNDREDS of families are homeless in the North-East and the number is rising, a charity warned yesterday.

Shelter said figures revealed an increase of 90 per cent since 1997 in the number of homeless people trapped in temporary accommodation.

The situation is similar in Yorkshire and Humberside with more than 2,000 homeless people - an increase of 110 per cent in the past five years.

Figures for each local authority show that Harrogate has 151 homeless households in temporary accommodation, Richmondshire has 25, Ryedale, 28, Scarborough,56, and York 259.

The June figures, which were obtained from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, show that in the North-East, Wansbeck has the highest number of homeless households, with 175.

The full results are: Chester-le-Street - 108, Darlington - seven, Derwentside - 55, Durham - 29, Easington - six, Gateshead - 24, Hartlepool - one, Middlesbrough - 36, Newcastle - 54, North Tyneside - 103, Redcar and Cleveland - 86, Sedgefield - 16, South Tyneside - 26, Stockton - 104, Sunderland - 15, Teesdale - three, Tynedale - 24 and Wear Valley - nine.

The charity is calling on families in the North-East to support its Wake Up Call campaign to make a difference to the lives of homeless people.

It wants churches and congregations in the region to take advantage of the extra hour when the clocks go back on October 30 and hold a Wake Up Call service.

Churches can get involved by holding a collection or a fundraising breakfast, lunch or coffee break in the extra hour, before or after the service, for a suggested donation.

Adam Sampson, director of Shelter, said: "This is your wake up call. Over a million children in Britain wake up every day to the misery of bad housing or homelessness.

"For these children, an extra hour in the day means an extra hour trapped in terrible housing, an extra hour where their health, education and chances in life are seriously damaged."

The charity has prepared a campaign pack with ideas of what to do with the extra hour to raise funds.

For a copy of the pack or more information, call Shelter on 0845 458 4590 or visit www.shelter.org.uk/churches