NEW research has revealed that councils across the UK have failed to prevent homelessness amongst eight out of every 10 young people who approached them for support.

Mathew Hatch-Diespecker, who has been sofa-surfing and sleeping rough in Worcester, claims his experience of the system locally backs up these statistics.

The 25-year-old recently applied to Worcester City Council for support with his homelessness but was told his case was not a priority and permanent accommodation could not be provided.

A council spokeswoman however explained that the local authority deals with applications in line with national guidelines and its statutory responsibilities.

Mr Hatch-Diespecker said: “The situation is causing me a lot of stress and it is making things harder and harder for me.

“I am struggling to deal with the fact I’m living in this sort of environment.

“I wouldn’t be able to survive without the help of friends.

"Sleeping on the streets has been quite scary and I have often been too worried to actually fall asleep."

The former youth mentor added he can’t understand why he is not classed as a priority, despite having mental illnesses including social anxiety, neurotic depression and panic disorder.

He also recognises his difficulties in everyday life, citing a recent Department for Work and Pensions assessment which found he needs prompting from another person to eat and drink, wash and engage with other people.

However Worcester City Council did not deem him “vulnerable” enough to warrant priority status, having assessed all of the information available to it including medical reports.

A spokeswoman for the local authority said: "Our statutory responsibility is to assess applicants and give priority to those who are pregnant, have dependant children, have been made homeless by an emergency, or are aged under 21, care leavers or vulnerable.

"There is always on-going advice and support available and young people are not just left on their own."

Mr Hatch-Diespecker stated he was made homeless after being physically attacked in Evesham.

He felt he could not stay in the town, where his father lives, while his estranged mother and elderly grandmother could not home him either.

A spell in supported accommodation provided a roof over his head for a while but things didn’t work out because of his social anxiety problems, and ultimately he has found himself sleeping rough or crashing at friends' houses when possible.

He hopes to appeal Worcester City Council's decision and is exploring other avenues for accessing support such as local projects.

On a national level research, which has been published by the charity Homeless Link, shows that councils are preventing homelessness amongst young people in just 19 per cent of cases.

The statistics also reveal that 52 per cent of people seeking help with homelessness are under 25 but that 40 per cent of local authorities feel under-equipped to tackle the youth problem.