ITV News has found that children as young as four years old are being forced to sleep rough on the streets, with local councils in England being accused of breaking the law by denying families emergency accommodation.

In the news segment, they spoke to one homeless family in London with five children who slept on the streets for almost two weeks in December, and another family with three children in Birmingham, all under the age of 12, who were forced to sleep in their car. Both families were turned away by local councils, who refused to provide accommodation after they became homeless.

The charity Crisis told ITV News their records show 100 homeless, including families with children and pregnant mothers, have come to them for help after being turned away by local authorities. “You’re breaking the law. It’s morally outrageous. It’s legally outrageous. It needs to stop and we need the government to step in and say unequivocally, this must never happen again.” said Matt Downie, Crisis CEO.