Feed the Bristol Homeless volunteer Layla Begado says the work of the charity is helping reduce hunger in rough sleepers.

And she says that doing so is "special".

Bath is considering importing a "housing-first" idea from Finland to help rough sleepers.

The initiative has drastically cut homelessness in Finland and the UK government is proposing a three-year pilot costing £15m based on the model.

Rough sleepers would be placed in properties and a package of care and support wrapped round them.

Birmingham Council is also considering the policy and the BBC followed its council leader Paul Street as he visited the project in Finland in November.

The council in Bath said it is in the early stages of planning but would work with homeless charity Julian House to identify people who could be placed in homes.

Naseem Talukdar is the founder of Feed the Homeless Bristol. Before he joined the charity, he spent his money on flash cars and expensive clothes.

That has all changed since his time feeding the homeless.

When you live somewhere everybody wants to live property prices rocket and some people are being priced out of the rental market, says Stephen Fowler, manager of Dairy House hostel.

He says the hostel on the Mendips in Somerset has seen more and more people made homeless as landlords become less willing to rent to people on benefits.

Over the past six years rough sleeping in Bristol has risen from eight people to more than 70.

Government figures show that they have dropped slightly from a high point of 97 in 2015.

Image source, BBC/AFP

On BBC Radio Bristol's Facebook page, external, Rob's suggestion for how to deal with homelessness has caused quite a stir.

"The answer is not to give for free," he said. "Let them go pick up litter or remove gum from the pavements. For every kilo they collect, give them a cup of soup."

Here's a few of the responses:

Rachael: "And how does that cup of soup get them off the streets? What we need is a proper solution."

Fabio: "You do realise there are people genuinely employed as refuse and street cleaners, people who earn a fair enough wage for their work. And yet, you Rob, would value that to a cup of soup per kilo."

Ross: "Have you sprung from the pages of a Dickens novel? "Please Mister Gummer, can I have a penny for some soup?"

Scott Ellis
BBC Points West reporter

Volunteers in Weston-super-Mare have agreed to set up a working group with the aim of opening a night shelter in the town.

More than 50 people met in a local church - amid worries the number of rough sleepers is worse than estimated.

They heard from those running night shelters in Cardiff and Bristol - who advised funding and insurance are key hurdles to overcome.

If a shelter opens it's not likely to be until next autumn.

We'll be hearing from people sleeping rough in Weston later this evening.

Can you imagine sleeping outside in this weather?

Although it's been sunny outside today, it's also bitterly cold.

One charity is warning of a rise in the number forced to sleep in makeshift shelters on the Mendips in Somerset.

Elim Connect in Wells has outreach workers and the area's only direct access hostel - and has helped 60 rough sleepers turn their lives around in the past year.

Layla Begado is cooking food to hand out to homeless people in Bristol.

"There are so many other priorities that we just forget to look for the ones that are ignored," she says.

One Bristol charity is converting shipping containers into micro flats for homeless people.

Help Bristol's Homeless, external has completed four "flats" already and volunteers are converting a fifth container into a home with a shower, kitchen and bed.

It's something we'll be covering a little later on, Sam.

Bath and North East Somerset is another council which has been trying to stop begging on the street.

A donation hotline, external was set up to donate £3 to organisations working with homeless people in the city.

The authority said people giving money to beggars are "simply exacerbating" the problem.

In a statement the council said there has been a "marked increase in the severity and volume of this problem".

Image source, Getty Images

Lead cook Janice Hale says that homeless people are happy to talk to people going past.

"So many people walk past them," she adds that some don't "even look at them".

Image source, Getty Images

Bath is another city in the West which has seen a steep rise in the number of people sleeping rough.

Back in November there were an estimated 34 people sleeping outside, external in Bath and North East Somerset.

That's compared to 25 people sleeping rough in 2016 and nine back in 2010., external

Feed the Bristol Homeless has told us it has to avoid certain parts of Bristol because of the problem of synthetic drug spice.

Founder Naseem Talukdar said going to those areas would put a "risk on all of our volunteers on the streets".

Image source, Getty Images

The numbers of rough sleepers in Cheltenham fell slightly last year - nine people were believed to be sleeping outside in November 2017, down from 11 people in 2016.

The council has teamed up with councils across the county and won £990,000 government funding is focusing on long-term entrenched homeless

ACTion Glos started in October 2017 and provides intensive and relatively long-term support to 110 homeless people across the county for whom traditional outreach work hasn't worked.

Layla Begado is one of the volunteer cooks for the charity Feed the Homeless Bristol. They give out free food and drinks every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

She started volunteering after she decided she wanted to help, but didn't know the best way to go about it.

Instead of going out on the streets, she spends her Friday nights cooking meals that the charity distribute.

Image source, Gloucester City Council

Gloucester, in contrast to many cities in the West, saw a big drop in the number of people sleeping rough.

The annual estimate of numbers in 2017 saw a decrease in rough sleeping by a third compared to 2016 when 23 people were sleeping on the streets., external

The city has introduced a number of new measures to help homeless people, although it was criticised for a campaign, external to reduce begging.

However, the council maintain that "giving loose change is not the best way to help a rough sleeper".

Instead it encourages people to let StreetLink, external know about rough sleepers and last year referrals went up 34% compared to the year before.

Naseem Talukdar is the founder and trustee of the charity Feed The Homeless Bristol., external

He joined up after realising he wanted to help out, and says the charity provides more than just food to those in need.

Image source, Getty Images

The number of people sleeping rough in Bristol is continuing to rise and the council says the national housing crisis and government policy is to blame.

Some 86 people were recorded sleeping on the streets in December, external - an increase of 12 people (14%) from the official figure recorded at the same time last year.

The council said this figure "still only represents the tip of the iceberg, with other people who are sleeping in unsafe buildings or sofa-surfing not included".

It is now concentrating on preventing people becoming homeless but they still expect "a significant rise in the number of households presenting to us as homeless in the coming years".