Shelter says rural homelessness is rising at three times the urban rate

It says that 5,982 households in rural areas of the South East were homeless in 2003, compared with 4,885 in 1999 - an increase of 22%.

This compares with an increase of 7% in urban areas.

Shelter's report Priced Out, launched on Tuesday, calls on the government to build more affordable rural homes.

The report also reveals that last year more council houses were sold under Right to Buy scheme than were provided to replace them.

Failure to build

Shelter says many local people in the South East cannot afford to live in the towns they grew up in, with potentially devastating impact on rural businesses, schools and communities.

"There is something wrong when levels of homelessness are soaring, whilst only a fraction of sold-off council houses are being replaced," said Shelter director Adam Sampson.

"The failure to build new homes has forced families who have lived in a town or village for generations to move away."

Shelter uses the Countryside Agency's definition, which categorises 31% of districts in the South East as rural.

The charity says second-home ownership is also contributing to the rise in rural homelessness.

It is calling for owners of second homes to be charged double the normal rate of council tax.

Second homes in England currently qualify for a council tax discount of between 10% and 50%, depending on the discretion of the local council.

Planning flexibility

A spokesman for deputy prime minister John Prescott said: "We are increasing the supply of affordable homes in rural areas to meet demands and reduce homelessness.

"Last year the Housing Corporation and local authorities approved nearly 5,000 affordable homes in rural areas and market towns.

"We have also given rural planning authorities the flexibility to grant planning permission for affordable housing, where it might have been refused for market housing, provided the houses are available for local people.

"The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has allocated over �4m to local authorities in rural areas in 2004/05, to enable them to tackle homelessness."