A HOUSING crisis is blighting Bolton following news that 23,703 households are on a waiting list for council homes.

The list is the largest in the North-west - and the seventh longest in the country.

It is far bigger than major cities including Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

In 2003, the waiting list for "social" housing consisted of 11,909 households but that has doubled in the three years.

The current total is nearly a quarter of Bolton's 111,971 homes and has prompted housing chiefs to plead for the right to build more affordable homes.

Factors blamed for the crisis are rising house prices, an increasing population, a lack of government money to build new homes and the loss of around 9,500 former council houses sold at discounted prices under a "right to buy" scheme.

A new choice-based letting system, meaning people must apply for advertised properties rather than wait for offers, has also seen the list increase in size. During 2005/06 only 1,838 homes were let, with priority given to those in urgent need, including 348 households classed as "homeless".

The current list includes 13,029 households seeking one-bedroom properties, suggesting single people struggling to get on the housing ladder are worst hit.

Between July and September, 625 homes were advertised leading to 25,231 expressions of interest from 4,842 people.

Some are tenants in some of Bolton At Home's 18,769 former council properties. But there are also 10 housing associations involved as registered social landlords, which have 7,054 properties.

Housing bosses have been meeting government officials in the hope of getting the go-ahead to take out a loan to fund the building of new properties, which would be paid back using the rent received.

Dr Brian Iddon, MP for Bolton South-east, last week posted a red rubber brick to Chancellor Gordon Brown as part of a campaign by housing charity Shelter calling for more social housing.

He said: "Spiralling prices and a chronic shortage of social homes mean many of my constituents are caught in a housing catch 22' through no fault of their own."

Dominic Conway, partnership and development manager at Bolton Community Homes admitted there was a "crisis".

He said: "There's simply a shortage of affordable accommodation.

"Social housing was traditionally seen as being for people without jobs but now people in work can't afford to buy."

Cllr Noel Spencer, Bolton At Home chairman, said between seven and eight thousand of those on the list were "actively" seeking accommodation.

He said the crisis dated back to moves by the last Conservative government to cut funding and stop councils being landlords altogether.

"For every affordable home now being built three are being lost to right-to-buy. I would like to see Bolton At Home building something like 200 new affordable homes each year."