'Amazing Tilly' inspires others to help rising numbers of homeless
A seven year old girl has been praised after collecting crisp packets which can be turned into blankets for the homeless.
Last updated 9th Dec 2021
"Tilly you are amazing" - the response from The Iron Man founder Miley Porritt after she collected 723 crisp packets to be turned into emergency blankets for the homeless.
The seven year old, who attends Outwood Junior Academy Brumby in Scunthorpe, persuaded her friends to also help collect the crisp packets after seeing a video online.
Former homeless man Miley Porritt, 23, from Frome in Somerset, came up with the idea last November while trying to make Christmas decorations out of crisp packets.
He says carefully sealing 150 together, using an iron, makes a blanket.
Mr Porritt issued a plea for crisp packets through his Iron Man Survival Blankets Facebook group.
Latest figures show more than 274,000 people are homeless in England amid fears of a "rising tide" of evictions as many families face an uncertain winter.
One in every 206 people in England is without a home, including 126,000 children, say charity Shelter.
In London one in every 53 people is homeless, with high numbers also in Brighton and Hove and in Manchester.
The charity's chief executive said the figures were "shameful" and warned that "with Covid protections now gone thousands more will be joining them".
Of the more than 274,000 people believed to be homeless on any given night, 2,700 people are sleeping rough, nearly 15,000 single people are in direct access hostels and nearly 250,000 people are living in temporary accommodation - most of whom are families, Shelter said.
A fundraising appeal for The Iron Man can be found here