A CENSUS of rough sleepers would help the government get to grips with the deepening homelessness crisis, says a Hampshire MP.

Desmond Swayne believes carrying out a painstaking survey would allow ministers to determine the actual number of homeless people in the county.

Currently, the government cannot tackle the problem effectively because it does not know exactly how many people are sleeping in doorways, on park benches or in temporary shelters.

Recent figures showed Southampton has some 8,000 households on its housing register who need permanent homes.

Charities claim the problem is approaching crisis levels.

Now Mr Swayne, Conserv-ative MP for New Forest West, has joined a campaign demanding "urgent action" by the government.

He said: "The increase in homelessness, which presently stands at 380,000 and is currently at its highest level since 1997, is alarming.

"We need a census of the UK's hidden homeless to be taken in order to determine the true extent of Britain's homelessness problem.

"It is greatly concerning that some organisations predict that homelessness could rise to 650,000 by 2010.

"The government must deal with the squalor and degradation experienced by those without a home as well as the physical and psychological trauma associated with homelessness."

In December, the National Housing Federation (NHF) warned that homelessness in southern England had reached "crisis" levels.

Peter Simmonds, of the NHF, described the total number of families living in temporary accommodation as "staggering".