By Marie Jackson BBC News

Flo who ran away aged 12, found help at the Refuge Flo animated video

For hundreds of teenage runaways, England's only dedicated refuge centre has helped them to get back on their feet and look to the future.

Now the London refuge itself is in need of a lifeline and is running an appeal to try to secure its own future.

It comes as charities argue the shortage of emergency accommodation for the UK's child runaways has reached crisis point.

Every year 100,000 children run away from home.

Scared and lonely, many fall in with the first person to show them kindness but often these are people involved with drugs or prostitution, say children's charities.

From there, these children's lives can start to unravel, they say.

Scarcity of beds

Some are able to find food, warmth and shelter for the night in homeless hostels across the country so long as they have their parents' permission.

But for those who do not - and for many it is abusive home lives and their parents who are at the very root of the problem - there are fewer options.

We see incredible changes in young people from the moment they bond with one of our counsellors or staff members Roy O'Shaughnessy, St Christopher's

Police officers who find vulnerable children on the street can risk taking them home, look after them in a police cell or see whether there is a bed available at St Christopher's Refuge.

But the nine-bed centre is the only one of its kind in England, meaning spaces are scarce.

Set up seven years ago in a secret location in Westminster, it has given shelter, medical care, counselling, food and care to about 550 teenagers over the past year.

Roy O'Shaughnessy, development director for St Christopher's, says for some it has meant the difference between a life on the streets and a promising future.

RUNAWAY REFUGE FIGURES 60% run away due to family conflict 75% are girls under 16 There are nine beds in the centre 550 were direct referrals last year 35 children were turned away

In a video the charity has made to highlight its 180 Degree appeal, Flo tells how she came across the Refuge after running away at the age of 12.

She said: "I knew I didn't really want to sleep on the streets so I went to a phone box and phoned so many different places and they said 'you are too young for these hostels'.

"Then I phoned the Refuge and they said 'stay exactly where you are, we are going to get you a cab'.

"They took me to this place. It was a bit crazy because you are just put with people you don't know, but it was a safe environment, a warm environment, you felt like this is a place I'm going to get some help."

Mr O'Shaughnessy said: "We see incredible changes in young people from the moment they bond with one of our counsellors or staff members."

But with so few beds, this option is not available to everyone.

High costs

Last year at least 35 children in need were turned away and Mr O'Shaughnessy believes that number was probably much higher as police usually know when the centre is full.

Despite this the centre's future is not assured. Last year the government ended its �400,000 funding of the project, St Christopher's says.

It was given a bridging grant to tide it over while they await a decision to hear whether the government will fund them for the next three years.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families said it was committed to ensuring the needs of vulnerable, young runaways were met but local authorities were responsible for safeguarding children in their area.

A department spokesman said local safeguarding children's boards were in place to co-ordinate safeguarding procedures.

Now St Christopher's charity is running a 180 Degree campaign which aims to help turn young people's lives around and raise �180,000 to pay for the added extras such as teaching tutors, sexual health specialists and nutritionists.

If the refuge closes, there's nowhere for them to go to that's equal to or fit for purpose Martin Houghton-Brown, Children's Society

According to the Children's Society, refuges for young runaways, the first of which opened in the 1980s, have always teetered from one funding crisis to another.

The problem is these projects are so expensive, says Martin Houghton-Brown, policy advisor for the charity.

The St Christopher's Refuge costs �700,000 a year to run. Children usually stay for no more than a couple of weeks but as many as 18 staff are employed.

Safe houses

Mr O'Shaughnessy says some local authorities question why they should fund a refuge when they have no more than eight runaways, arguing it is cheaper to put children into foster care families.

But, he says, the refuge costs are comparable to long-term residential care for runaways and says there is already a major shortage of foster families.

Mr Houghton-Brown, of the Children's Society, says a refuge is essential in a city the size of London.

"If the refuge closes, there's nowhere for them to go to that's equal to or fit for purpose.

"It's equally important that every major city and local authority looks at emergency accommodation provisions and makes sure they have the right fit for their area," he added.

The Children's Society have set up a "crash pad" in Torquay in Devon, which effectively operates as a kind of safe house for runaway children.

Now he wants the government to lead a review looking at integrated ways to tackle the "massive" shortage of emergency accommodation for runaway children.