HOMELESSNESS must not become a Christmas tradition and must be ended to give everyone a home campaigners are urging.

It is estimated that 6000 children in Scotland will spend this Christmas in temporary accommodation as their families are homeless.

Last year around 1400 children in Glasgow were officially homeless at Christmas and New Year.

Shelter Scotland has stated a Festive period campaign highlighting the misery of homelessness that will be endured by thousands of families over Christmas.

The charity said every 19 minutes another family becomes homeless in Scotland.

Glasgow City Council has set up a rough sleeping task force to tackle the most acute homeless problems in the city.

The Scottish Government has recently announced its plan to invest £50m in an end homelessness together fund and provide extra winter shelter places this year in Glasgow and other cities.

Shelter which welcomed the fund said that no-one should be sleeping rough over Christmas or any time of the year.

Alison Watson, Deputy Director of Shelter Scotland, said: “The festive season is a time of traditions, a time to remember others and enjoy the company of family and friends. We want to remind people in Scotland that many families are not as fortunate as we are and will struggle to enjoy a traditional Christmas because they have no place to call home.

“Let’s not make homelessness a Christmas tradition. Let’s fix homelessness in Scotland and make sure that everyone has a warm, secure and affordable home, that a safety net exists for people who do lose their home and that no-one has to sleep rough on our streets at Christmas or at any time of the year.”

It said last year there were 28,000 households assessed as statutorily homeless in Scotland.

The charity said tens of thousands of new homes are needed to be built urgently with almost 140,000 households on council house waiting lists across Scotland.