IN the dark and the damp underneath a multi-storey car park two men bed down for the night.
Paul and Dave are stretched out on cardboard mats, covered with filthy blankets. It's 11pm and at the moment they're the only ones preparing to spend the night next to one of Nottingham's busiest roads. But they're surrounded by other beds and blankets and claim that up to 16 people sleep here most nights.
Without inside information, their hiding place would never be found.
Less than half a mile away under a walkway near Nottingham castle, four more people are preparing to bed down. Near a statue of Robin Hood there's evidence of more rough sleepers.
The Government wants to reduce the number of rough sleepers in England by two thirds by 2002. The Prime Minister wants the total down to as close as zero as possible.
Official statistics published last month by the Government's Rough Sleepers Unit claim that just seven people sleep on the streets of Nottingham.
But I found 13 people who claimed they were sleeping rough and if there claims are to be believed, at least 20 others would join them later in the night.
And I didn't go into dangerous abandoned factories and caves where others were said to be sleeping.
The RSU says the number of people sleeping rough across England has fallen by 62 per cent over the last year.
Numbers are assessed by a one-night snapshot count. Only those who are bedded down and asleep are classified as rough sleepers. The counters are not allowed to enter buildings where they may be at risk.
Those who carried out the count in Nottingham acknowledge that the official figures are not a true reflection of the numbers but insist that the overall total of rough sleepers is falling.
The head of the Rough Sleepers' Unit Louise Casey says the snapshot count in Nottingham is accurate. She says the counters waited until at least 2am when many homeless people would have returned to night shelters and hostels.
She herself took part in the count and insists the counters were extremely thorough and diligent and would have found most of the genuine rough sleepers on that particular night.
The RSU has a budget of 拢200 million and has introduced a range of initiatives across the country designed to get rough sleepers off the streets.
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