'IF it wasn't for St Paul's, I would be dead on the street' – those are the words of a man living at a Worcester homeless hostel, as its boss said they are experiencing 'extraordinary levels' of demand for beds.

Jonathan Sutton, CEO of St Paul's in Tallow Hill, said the hostel is running at around 95 per cent capacity every night, meaning there are just two or three beds free and that any sudden surge in demand would be impossible to meet.

St Paul's has 48 beds in its hostel and two flats, and 16 beds in 'move on' houses, and Mr Sutton said there has never been such a demand for help during his time in charge as there is now.

"St Paul's has never been this busy in my six years," said the former army officer. "Homelessness goes through ups and downs and we have not seen levels of rough sleeping like this since the early 2000s, before the Labour government threw lots of money at the issue."

The last official count of rough sleepers in Worcester, at the end of last year, showed the number of people sleeping on the streets had doubled in a year. There was a rise from 12 to 24 between 2017 and 2018.

Mr Sutton said that there are many reasons why there has been a rise in the number of homeless people, including delays in Universal Credit payments, the wide availability of cheap alcohol and drugs, mental health issues and family breakdowns.

At St Paul's, the team focus on addressing the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – such as emotional neglect, living with the loss of a parent and sexual abuse – of residents which have compelled them to turn to drink and drugs, in the hope of breaking that cycle of addiction.

Worcester News reporter Steven Collins sat in on the Monday morning staff handover at St Paul's and, during his time at the hostel, found there was an overwhelmingly positive atmosphere.

There has been a 58 per cent reduction in the number of police visits to the hostel between 2011 and 2018 for issues of petty crime, and a 94 per cent reduction in residents having to leave the hostel as a last resort.

Mr Sutton said: "One resident we gave so many chances to and asking someone to leave is the very last resort but this person was asked to leave by the residents' committee – it really is their place."

One resident, a man who asked not to be named, said: "If it wasn't for St Paul's I would be dead on the street – simple as that."

St Paul's housing manager Amanda McKindlay, 56, said: "Since Jonathan has taken over, there have been big changes and he has now got the right staff.

"I said to him, I'll give it six months and then I'm leaving if things don't change – and they did and now it's a pleasure to come to work.

"There's a lot of stigma around homelessness – people might just tell them to get a job but it isn't as simple as that."

St Paul's chef Gregg Dobson, 41, has previously worked in a Michelin-starred restaurant in Cornwall and now runs cooking classes as well as preparing food on a limited budget.

He said: "We have a daily budget of just £2 per day for each resident, and each resident has three meals if they choose.

"It's difficult but we have help from FareShare who provide discounted supermarket produce to help us.

"My aim is to get residents that want to learn to cook to make them independent when they move on and, if they want, into cooking as a career."

Mr Dobson said he actually has to turn food away as there is limited storage on site and wishes to thank the community for their offering of food.

Residents cannot stay at the hostel rent free, but pay just £36 a week to cover water, food and other costs.

Debbie Collins, who is employed as the accountant but also provides holistic therapy, said: "Negative thoughts tend to define people and I teach them how to let go – to acknowledge them as a passive observer."