Two children, whose names have been changed to protect their identity, tell their stories.

One-fifth of children thrown out of home sleep rough

My mum's boyfriend has always been violent towards me, hitting and shouting abuse at me. My mother always sided with him.

It was affecting the way I was behaving with my friends and at school. My grades started falling, I lost weight, wasn't eating.

Instead of going home after school as I said I would, I went to some friends' houses. I couldn't face going home to get another bashing.

But, unfortunately, none of them could put me up, as it was a school night and their parents wouldn't approve.

So I had to sleep rough. I was afraid the druggies and drunks would attack me when I was asleep. So I hid where I was as far away from people as possible.

It was cold, I was really miserable. But my family didn't want me Chris, 15

I found a field and an old dug-out with a bench in it. It was winter and I was freezing. I only had my clothes to keep me warm - no blankets nothing.

I did this for a week, before the police found me. I was taken back home, but as soon as I arrived, I knew it wouldn't be long before I left again.

Then I squatted in an old empty house for a period of two to three months.

It was cold, I was really miserable. But my family didn't want me and I couldn't go to my friends so I had nowhere else to stay.

I tried to get help but no-one took me seriously or believed my story. I found a friend who was willing to care for me with the support of the local authority.

But things are really tough. I'm trying to do my GCSEs but I've got so much on my mind, like why this happened to me, where am I going to live long-term, and what the future holds.

My mum always had boyfriends. The first one used to slap and abuse me verbally.

Girls make up three-fifths of those who leave home

She had another boyfriend who punched me and my mum would hit me too. She'd scream at me to, 'come here so I can hit you,' so I would.

You do what your mum tells you when you're little. And I didn't know any different.

Then she got her boyfriend who didn't hit me, but the things he said really hurt and made me feel worthless.

I had been self-harming myself since I was nine. It started with scratching my face with my nails when I got shouted at home or school.

It didn't help that I was being severely bullied at school.

My mum didn't like my friends and one night after an argument, she said she wouldn't let me see them again.

I remember walking into my classroom and breaking down in tears in front of the teacher Sarah, 20

I ran upstairs, packed a few clothes in a sports bag and ran out. I rang a friend from the telephone box and her mum picked me up in her car.

The hostels wouldn't take me in because I was under 16 and the police just said they'd take me home.

I remember walking into my classroom and breaking down in tears in front of the teacher.

The schoolteachers tried to get help but they didn't know what to do.

I remember walking out of school in the middle of the afternoon. I knew I couldn't go home and I had nowhere to go. I had no money, no clothes - nothing.

I decided in the end to stay for a while in a children's home and the project workers came to help me settle in.

This September I'm going to university and I have a flat of my own.

When I think about all that I have been through, I just hope other children can be helped and there will be someone there to listen and believe them.