Six rough sleeper encampments have been removed in Stoke-on-Trent over the past fortnight, the council leader has revealed.

Jane Ashworth, leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, says the authority will continue to take similar action, working with Staffordshire Police.

Cllr Ashworth told a full council meeting that while the approach might appear 'harsh', the encampments were bad for both the homeless individuals and nearby residents. And she insisted that the authority would support homeless people to get off the street and into accommodation.

Earlier this year council leaders agreed to spend £1.8 million on services for rough sleepers in 2025/26, including night shelters, temporary accommodation and healthcare. The authority's rough sleeper outreach service had 65 individuals on its caseload in April, with nearly a third of these being women.

Cllr Ashworth said: "As a council we're good at stopping people from becoming homeless. We're good at intervening at the right time to prevent that happening.

"But we continue to have a challenging problem of unauthorised rough sleeping encampments that spring up here and there across the city. It's not right for the people who are forced to dwell in them, and it's not right for the people who live nearby.

"So we're working with Staffordshire Police's problem solving team to identify and deal with these encampments.

"You may think it harsh but we've cleared away six of them in a single fortnight, and we will continue to do so.

"I know they are some of our most vulnerable citizens, and we do have an offer, that is a good offer, to help them get back inside a safe, warm place, while they work with us to get themselves a proper tenancy and into a situation where they can be good neighbours.

"But we won't put up with the situation where we have encampments, and people who are homeless and misusing drugs causing difficulties for their unwilling neighbours."

For rough sleeping support, contact the Brighter Futures Rough Sleepers Team at 0800 970 2304 or [email protected]