ROUGH sleepers are being spotted on city streets despite instructions to place them into accommodation for isolation.

The government had reportedly told all local authorities to house the rough sleepers amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This was confirmed by Southampton City Council (SCC), Fareham Borough Council, and Test Valley Borough Council (TVBC).

A spokesperson for TVBC said: “We contacted all known rough sleepers in the borough and offered every one accommodation. Most took up the offer - we will work with those who didn’t of course."

But according to homelessness group Halo, which aims to help homeless people, rough sleepers in Southampton are still on the streets.

Founder of Halo, Steve Porter, said: “All the homeless have not been put in rooms.

“We went out yesterday [Monday] and found seven in an hour, all soup kitchens have shut and shelters, these people are starving. We are trying our best but the lack of help is making us fail slowly.

“We thought they were all put into temporary accommodation so was shocked to see Anthony [rough sleeper] still sat outside ASDA.

“He says the council are only housing people with symptoms, but he is on the street and doesn’t want to be.

"It is said Tommy [rough sleeper] is in temp accommodation, we've not seen him."

Paul Woodman, from Street Support Southampton, said: “For charities, the previous ways of feeding people sleeping rough are no longer allowed because they gather more than two people.

“From now on, we will provide a small service of take away meals daily, arranged with Two Saints, local churches, Southampton Street Pastors and Grace Kitchen.”

A spokesperson for SCC said: "Council officers had already done a lot of work in advance of the government’s latest directive, to identify rough sleepers and provide them with a safe place to self-isolate during the COVID-19 crisis.

"We are fortunate to have access to well-established Southampton hostels, which are continuing to provide a full service, plus some local hotels have been contracted to help house anyone sleeping rough.

"Our outreach work is also happening every morning, where we continue to offer accommodation to rough sleepers who remain on, or are new to, the streets."