A CIRENCESTER charity has revealed it has spent almost £17,000 this year to prevent homelessness and reduce hunger in the town.

In its first 12 months as a registered charity, Cirencester Signpost has taken action to prevent six people from becoming homeless.

The charity has also intervened to help 33 people get their lives back on track and provided over 3,000 hot meals to reduce hunger and poverty, all at the cost of £16,775.

They have also revealed that there is a growing community of over 100 people in Cirencester and the nearby areas who are torn between eating or heating.

Co-founder and chairman of Cirencester Signpost, 55 year-old Graham Harris said: “We operated as a volunteer group, with charitable intentions, since 2012, but decided we could achieve so much more by becoming a formally registered charity.

“This took many months of hard work to achieve as we had to comply with Charity Commission rules on our structure, policies, how we select and DBS check trustees as well as train them in safeguarding and show financial transparency – this gives supporters and donors the confidence that they could trust us to be good and do good.”

Cllr Stephen Hirst, cabinet member at CDC responsible for housing issues said: "We are very concerned about the plight of the homeless and those in danger of losing their homes.

"Working with the homeless is a shared activity and we commend the work that Signpost does to help those in need.

"We believe that there are currently two verified rough sleepers in Cotswold District (both in Cirencester) and our team has worked with one street homeless person recently.

"One of the most useful things members of the public can do is to make a Streetlink referral, so that the local authorities are aware of the location of all rough sleepers, enabling us to engage with them so we can facilitate take-up of assistance."

The £16,775 the charity spent in their first 12 months will need to be raised again next year to support those in need.

Cirencester Signpost will hold their next street collection in Cirencester Town Centre on Saturday, November 24.

To find out more about the charity, go to bit.ly/1FBjKeI.