IT’S A SCANDAL THAT EACH NIGHT THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN ARE HAVING TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES ON STREETS WITHOUT A LOVING HOME TO GO SAYS NICK CLEGG

The leading charity for the welfare of street children, Railway Children is today launching a hard-hitting campaign designed to highlight the plight of thousands of children surviving on Britain’s streets without care.

Using London’s streets as a backdrop, the “Nine Beds” campaign will run over the Christmas period, starting with nine nativity cribs being placed in high profile locations across the capital.

The nine cribs represent the fact that there are just nine beds available nationwide, for the estimated 100,000 children who end up living rough each year, 30,000 of which are 12 or younger.

London commuters will encounter abandoned nativity cribs at major locations including Trafalgar Square and Liverpool Street.

Railway Children will use the campaign to call for Government to create a network of emergency safe houses for children exposed to violence, crime, drug abuse, gang culture and sexual exploitation on the streets.

Advertising carrying the message: “This Christmas thousands of children will sleep on the streets because they are too afraid to go home” will support the Nine Beds campaign during the Christmas period.

Liberal Democrat Leader, Nick Clegg said of the campaign: “It is a scandal that each night thousands of children are having to fend for themselves on the streets without a loving home to go to.

“There are many reasons why children feel they can’t go home, they may have suffered from physical violence, intimidation or have serious emotional and mental health problems.

“Central government, local authorities and the charities who already do so much good work in this area must all redouble our efforts and work together to remove this moral stain on our society.”

The Nine Beds initiative follows the recent publication by Railway Children of a major investigation into the lives of the UK’s street children. The “Off the Radar” study involved researchers following the lives of more than a hundred children exposed to street life across the country, over a three year period.

To survive, street children are forced into situations involving drugs and sexual exploitation. The majority of children interviewed for the report did not seek help from support agencies as they believed their lives were normal.

Terina Keene, Chief Executive of Railway Children, said: “The nativity scene epitomizes the innocence of childhood and at the same time the threat of a life detached from the safety that most children in the UK take for granted.

“This campaign highlights the fact that this Christmas thousands of children in Britain are left to survive a life of violence and crime because our support services are failing to reach them.”