Homeless people have said they feel like they are living "at death's door" as temperatures continue to drop and winter approaches.
It comes as homelessness campaigners have blasted the government’s “shameful” record on housing, after nearly 1,000 people died while homeless in Britain last year.
Last week, official figures revealed that 741 people died while homeless in England and Wales during 2021, and another 250 people in Scotland.
The damning stats take Britain’s homeless death total to 991 last year alone and back up to pre-pandemic levels.
Campaigners are now warning we are heading into "one of the toughest winters yet."
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Dean, 32, told LancashireLive he became a rough sleeper about six weeks ago, again, after a relationship breakdown.
He says he feels "safe" thanks to a friend who is also rough sleeping but adds that he is "cold".
Dean, who suffers from mental health issues, said: “I feed out of the bins - I beg for food; I find it in the bins.
“I broke up with my girlfriend - she said she couldn’t trust me.”
Dean's pal Martin says he's been homeless for the past four years.
The 34-year-old said: "It's so cold. There will be a few deaths come Christmas if they haven't got people off the streets if they haven't housed them properly.
“My message to Rishi Sunak is, there are so many empty buildings, why can't you put people in them? We haven't got any rights - you can get done for burglary. He adds: “I feel I'm at death's door, it's so cold.”
Michael, 49, has just come out of the hospital and has been diagnosed with COPD.
He said: "I have never been so cold in my life. If you don’t get there at five o'clock, all the toilets are occupied by homeless people.”
The dad added: “Last week it took me about four days to get dry.
"I will go to the council offices at one o'clock to see if there's an emergency bed. If there's nothing, I’ll come back here and try to get somewhere, when the streets get dark.”
Figures released last week show that nearly two in five deaths were related to drug poisoning, while another 13 per cent were suicides, up by a third in a year.
And the average age of death of those facing homelessness was a shocking 43 years old for women, and 45 years for men - three decades shorter than those who have a permanent roof over their heads.
Homeless deaths have risen in every region since 2013. London and the North West had the highest numbers of homeless deaths registered in 2021, with the capital making up a fifth of the total.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, told The Mirror: “A freezing doorway, a bed in an emergency hostel, or a flimsy tent are no substitute for a home. It is utterly awful and unacceptable that two people die every day without anywhere safe to live – and this number is rising.
“Our frontline services are seeing more people who’ve run out of options, are facing homelessness, and the very real possibility of sleeping rough.
"This is going to be one of the toughest winters yet as so many people battle rising rents while housing benefit stays frozen.
“The government promised to end rough sleeping, but things are getting worse, not better.
"The government must immediately unfreeze and increase housing benefits to protect people from the ravages of homelessness this winter, and to keep people off the streets for good it has to invest in building good quality, supported social homes.”
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