'Being fostered saved me from homelessness'

Dean Smith was 14 when he first went into a foster home

Dean Smith who was fostered as a teenager says if he had not been placed with a nurturing family he may have ended up on the streets.

"Maybe I could have gone homeless or could have turned to darker paths with the people I was associating with," he said.

Mr Smith, from Redhill, in Surrey, was placed with a family when he was 14 because of problems at home.

Now Surrey County Council is screening a film about fostering in a bid to find more homes for the looked-after children in its care.

Mr Smith, pictured at 15, said without the fostering system he might have ended up homeless

Mr Smith, now 28, said his mum was trying to raise three children single-handed.

"The people I was associating with were a bad crowd, in the sense of stealing and smoking and stuff."

At the time says he thought they were "like family".

"I was a confused young child," Mr Smith said.

After going into care he lived in two foster homes. The first was in Merstham, Surrey.

"At the time they could not have given me a better family," Mr Smith said.

He said he was able to be his "vulnerable self".

"To an extent, they made me understand what it was like to be truly loved."

Later he was looked after by a woman in Sidcup, in south-east London.

"I felt like I belonged," Mr Smith said.

Now Surrey County Council is screening a film in a bid to help boost the number of foster carers in the county

Surrey County Council says it wants to increase foster carers in the county and has partnered with more than 90 councils to make a two-minute film about fostering.

Jonathan Hulley, the authority's member for children and families, said: "There are currently around 330 approved fostering households in Surrey providing safe, nurturing homes for children and young people who need them.

"However, with 933 looked after children in Surrey we need more, and our ambition is to increase our fostering community by 15 foster carers per year."

Called The Run, it centres on 11-year-old Tom, who has suffered neglect and is vulnerable to exploitation.

It will be shown across Surrey with the first screening at The Light Cinema, Redhill, on Thursday at 14:00 BST, as part of a programme of information sessions.

Mr Hulley said: "Our hope is that The Run - as well as our community information events - will spark meaningful conversations about fostering."

Now 28, Mr Smith says he has a good relationship with his mum and wouldn't be "half the person" he is had he not been fostered.