South Tyneside charity's HSBC account frozen in paperwork row

The charity has not been able to use its HSBC account for a week

Homeless people could be forced back onto the street after a charity's bank account was frozen in a row over missing paperwork, bosses have warned.

South Tyneside-based Emmaus has been using emergency cash from its charity shops to buy essentials for the 21 homeless people it supports.

The charity has been unable to access its HSBC account for a week, following the confusion over a missing form.

HSBC said it had "offered assistance" to the charity.

Chief executive Ruth Parker said emergency funds had to be dipped into to pay essential bills and for food

Emmaus North East's chief executive Ruth Parker said she had spent five hours on the phone during the week trying to resolve the issue.

"We have used emergency funds this week to keep a roof over people's heads and feed them, but those funds will have run out by the start of next week," she told BBC Look North.

"In reality what that means is we may have to put 21 formerly homeless people back out on streets.

"This is all because of a piece of paper HSBC needed as part of their processes. We've tried everything to resolve matters with HSBC and we still have a frozen bank account."

The charity provides accommodation and training for 21 formerly homeless people

Ms Parker said she felt HSBC had not accepted the charity works with "some of the most vulnerable people in society".

A spokesperson for the bank added they were "concerned" to hear about the charity's experience and said it had "reached out to offer further assistance".

"We conduct regular safeguarding reviews with all our customers and ask them to provide information about themselves and their organisation as part of our efforts to prevent financial crime," they said.

"We apologise for any inconvenience this causes.

"We allow several months for this process to ensure our customers have time to respond and because we may need to speak to them several times to acquire additional data and to clarify what they've told us."