Shelter said more than 7,000 households were in temporary accommodation and there were more than 26,000 overcrowded families across the region.

The charity is urging the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) to ensure that more new affordable rented homes are built each year.

The EERA said it was working hard to tackle the housing shortage.

'Major problems'

Shelter is calling for the EERA to ensure that at least 8,500 new social rented homes are built each year up until 2015, with a minimum of 7,200 built annually up to 2021.

The EERA's regional planning and transportation manager, Graham Nelson, said: "We have an awful lot of sympathy with what Shelter are saying and trying to achieve.

"A lack of affordable housing is recognised as one of the major problems facing the region. We are doing our utmost to tackle that in the draft East of England Plan.

"We plan for an average level of at least 30% of the total amount of housing over the plan's period to be social rented housing, which is 7,200 a year out of the 23,900 annual average total level of provision."