A group of rough sleepers have set up camp under a car park ramp in Ashford town centre.

Sheltering in tents donated by the town’s churches and huddled close in sleeping bags, the seven men and one woman have created a tiny community.

The group, who range in age from their 20s to 40s, had recently been staying in a homeless shelter run by Churches Together Ashford.

But the temporary project only runs through the winter and after just six weeks of shelter, the group are back on the streets.

Jodi, 21, a former John Wallis Academy pupil, shares one of the green donated tents with her boyfriend Mark, a 31-year-old dad-of-two.

Despite being homeless for around a year, the couple claim they have been told they are not a priority for emergency housing.

Mark said: "The council said we don’t qualify as an emergency because we are in a couple, so we are not classed as vulnerable. We have been together for a year and homeless for most of that.

"I was sleeping at my family’s house but I fell out with my mum and her other half, resulting in me having to leave.

"I moved in with Jodi and her family but I didn’t know they had the same issues as my family, so after a little while we both ended up on the streets."

The couple spent around four months sofa surfing, sleeping in friends spare rooms or on the floor.

Mark added: "We knew we couldn’t stay with them forever, it wasn’t fair, we were getting in the way and we didn’t want to fall out with them. We’ve been in tents, doorways or on the streets ever since.”

Mark and Jodi keep what little belongings they have in a couple of trolleys, to make it easy to find new places to stay. They play cards during the day and walk around town to keep busy.

Jodi said: "We do whatever we can to keep warm. It has been really cold lately, the whole time we’ve been in the tent I’ve never been this cold.

"I know it’s against the law but we have had to thieve things to help us survive. You have to do what you have to do.

"I don’t want to be here too long, right next to town, I don’t want people to see us like this.”

Mark added: "I have two children I see every weekend, they used to stay with me every weekend but now where can they stay?

"Getting housed is our priority, even just a B&B. Private landlords won’t take us because we can’t get guarantors. I just want to go back to work and see my kids.”

Factory worker Eduard Emmerig works long hours at a plastics factory in Maidstone.

The 37-year-old, who is originally from Czech republic, wakes up in a tent and has a shower at the gym before heading for his shift at Hunter Plastics.

He has been in the UK for nine years in constant employment but recently lost his job in Dover after a stint in prison.

Eduard spent four months behind bars for an assault he claims was self-defence when he was set upon by as gang. He was released just three days ago.

He said: "I go to work from a tent and it’s making me sick. It’s hard to be smelly and unwashed at work so I go to the gym for a shower.

"I lost two jobs because of prison, but I’m back to work now and they said there’s no problem with my behaviour.

"I don’t drink, I like the gym, I play chess and I have a good position in the company."

Eduard said his mother is an Au Pair in the USA, his father in Amsterdam and he came to the UK to make money.

He added: "I’m not scared of work, I want to work. My next shift is at 6am tomorrow and I will wake up in the tent and go to work.

"The problem with finding somewhere to live isn’t so much the money, it’s that landlords don’t want people from the streets."

If you're worried about someone sleeping rough, are having problems yourself or want to support someone who is, visit Porchlight's website here.