Students forced to stay in hotels

Some university students in Coventry have been living in hotels because of a shortage of accommodation.

Coventry University said it had been paying for 32 students to stay at the Britannia Hotel and Premier Inn in the city centre for the past week.

About 30 students at the University of Warwick have been staying in a campus conference centre, with accommodation equivalent to a four-star hotel.

Both universities said the shortage was due to a rise in student numbers.

Prices for a standard double at the Britannia Hotel start from £93 a night, according to their website. Rooms cost between £50 and £60 per night at the Premier Inn.

We simply had more students apply than there are places

A spokesman for Coventry University

A spokesman for Coventry University said they did not want to leave any students without anywhere to stay.

It is hoped those affected will be relocated to student accommodation by the end of next week.

"We are working with landlords via an agency to source somewhere to stay but we wanted to make sure everyone was okay," she said.

"Because of the rise in the number of students nationally, it has had a knock-on effect for us.

"We simply had more students apply than there are places."

Students using the conference centre at Warwick University have been paying their rent as normal, a spokesman said.

The university has also booked about 145 places in nearby private sector accommodation in anticipation of an increase in student numbers from this weekend.

"They won't be on campus right now but we have given them free bus passes," he said.

"We have seen between 3-5% increase in students but we already had a high number as we are a popular university."