Footballer Mings backs Prince of Wales's homeless project

Tyrone Mings (l) pictured with Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, Prince William, Gail Porter and David Duke at the launch of Homewards

Footballer Tyrone Mings has shared his experience of homelessness as he supports a Royal campaign to tackle the issue.

The England and Aston Villa player is part of the Prince of Wales's charitable foundation as it puts in £3m to help make homelessness "rare, brief and unrepeated".

The five year "Homewards" initiative launched on Monday.

Mings recounted how he and his family were placed in emergency accommodation.

The Homewards project launched on Monday

Speaking to Radio Four's Today programme, Mings said his family went through a period of "turbulence and instability" and were rehoused in emergency accommodation which he described as scary.

"Scary, for sure for a child to be in an environment where, kind of, laundry services are communal, you don't know who some of the people who are in there.

"But like I said, definitely positives came out of it."

Mings joined Aston Villa in 2019

His family were eventually offered a home, he said.

"What we didn't have in the way of stability or a permanent home at that time, we definitely made up with love and support as a family.

"When you're a child you don't really know that much different.

"I think you are just able to adapt and find positives in quite difficult situations."

Over the next two days, Prince William is set to visit the six areas his project will target - and draw attention to the different types of homelessness like sofa surfing or living on the streets.

The plan is to bring together coalitions of housing experts, charities and private industry to develop housing projects and support services, addressing different ways that homelessness occurs, whether in big cities or coastal towns.

There are thought to be more than 300,000 people currently homeless across the UK.