The number of rough sleepers in Waltham Forest has risen significantly, according to new figures.

The Department for Communities and Local Government records show there are now 73 people sleeping rough in the borough, compared to just two in 2008/9.

Labour London Assembly Member Jennette Arnold OBE AM called on London Mayor Boris Johnson to act.

She said:“It is both tragic and shocking that in Hackney, Islington and Waltham Forest there are now 256 more people sleeping on the streets.

“Every person living on our streets represents both a personal tragedy and a failure of the system which is meant to protect them.

“Delivering on his pledge to tackle rough sleeping could have been a crowning achievement for the Mayor; instead it is a chronic failure on his part.”

Mrs Arnold recently became a patron for the Christian Kitchen in Walthamstow, which provides free food for those in need.