MORE homeless people died in Greater Manchester last year than in any other city region in the country.

And the North West was second only to London as the region with the most homeless deaths.

The shocking figures revealing the extent of the homeless crisis are revealed in new research by the Office of National Statistics.

Campaign director for the charity, Shelter, Greg Beales said: "This appalling loss of life should be a source of national shame."

Greater Manchester had the highest number of deaths for a city region (50), followed by the West Midlands (34) and Liverpool (32).

London saw 136 homeless deaths in 2017 closely followed by 119 in north-west England .

The North West has seen the biggest increase in deaths over five years, from 55 to 119, an increase of 115 per cent.

By contrast, the figure for London is up just two per cent from 134 to 136.

Homeless people aged between 45 and 49 accounted for 102 of those who died; 101 died in the 35-49 age group; 90 homeless people died in the 40 to 44-year-old age group.

A surprising part of the research found that most homeless people (72) died in August than in the colder, wetter winter months.

Nearly 600 homeless people died in England and Wales in 2017 - a 24 per cent increase over five years.

Homeless men died on average at the age of 44 and women at 42 in that period, compared to 76 and 81 for the general population.

Drug poisoning, liver disease or suicide were the main causes of death.

Shelter campaign director Greg Beales said: "This appalling loss of life should be a source of national shame. There is nothing inevitable about homelessness or about these tragic deaths which are a consequence of a housing system which fails too many people.

"This new research from the ONS shows 597 people died homeless in one year. It doesn't have to be this way.

"Our crippling shortage of social housing and a threadbare safety net are at the root of this national emergency and we call on Government to make this year a turning point in the fight to ensure that there is a safe home for all those who need it."

Labour deputy leader Tom Watson tweeted: "Two days after Gyula Remes, 43, died - literally - on MPs' doorstep, new figures show 587 rough sleepers lost their lives in England and Wales in 2017. That's an abhorrent 24% increase over last 5 years. And the Tories want to squabble about lip-readers."

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Crisis chief executive Jon Sparkes said: "This is nothing short of a national tragedy - especially when we know that homelessness is not inevitable. In one of the world's wealthiest countries, no one should be dying because of homelessness. It's imperative that governments act now to stop this tragedy once and for all.

"Behind these statistics are human beings - mothers, fathers, daughters and sons - whose families will now be spending Christmas coming to terms with their loss. This has to change.

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"Governments must urgently expand the system used to investigate the deaths of vulnerable adults to include all those who have died while street homeless, so that crucial lessons can be learned to help prevent more people from dying needlessly."

The Local Government Association's housing spokesman, Councillor Martin Tett, said: "Every death of a homeless person is preventable. We must make this everybody's business to work together to stop this tragic loss of life and stop homelessness from happening in the first place.

"Councils are determined to prevent homelessness and rough sleeping from happening in the first place and support families affected. This is becoming increasingly difficult with homelessness services facing a funding gap of more than £100 million in 2019/20.

"Proper resourcing of local government funding is essential if we are going to end rising homelessness."