St Petroc's has estimated 200 people are homeless in Cornwall

The latest statistics revealed that there were just 11 people sleeping rough in the county.

The figures are collected on one night and count people asleep on the streets between midnight and 0600.

But the St Petroc's Society claims the number is a gross underestimate and the MP for Falmouth and Camborne says it does not show the true picture.

It's not just a case of people sleeping rough or in hostels. It's a much wider problem Julia Goldsworthy, Falmouth and Camborne MP

Julia Goldsworthy said: "Simply counting up the numbers isn't going to reflect the whole picture.

The Liberal Democrat MP said she had recently spoken to two people who were sleeping in a tent in someone's garden and said she knows of many more who are sleeping on sofas in friends or families' houses.

"It's not just a case of people sleeping rough or in hostels. It's a much wider problem.

"Surely what's needed is a proper study to understand what the issues are, rather than a simple head count in city centres."

St Petroc's, which was set up in 1986 to provide accommodation for single homeless people in Cornwall, has estimated that at any one time, there are up to 200 homeless people in the county.

Last year the Breadline Centre in Penzance, which had provided relief for disadvantaged people in the area, was forced to close because of a lack of cash.