ONE homeless person dies every three weeks in the Scottish capital, new figures reveal.

There has now been call for action after at least 18 homeless people died on Edinburgh streets in just one year.

Campaigners and charities said the numbers of people dying in Edinburgh, which is the 16th richest city in Europe, were shameful and unacceptable.

Several of them called for a new national strategy to be put in place to address the issue.

The “truly awful” Edinburgh figures show that two of the 18 who died were under 30 with the majority in the 30–50 age bracket.

However, the council said it did not hold information on the cause of death and declined to say how many had been in touch with council services to request assistance.

The City of Edinburgh Council statistics – obtained through a freedom of information request – show that ten men and eight women assessed to be homeless died while sleeping rough between April 2015 and March 2016.

The newly released figures come just weeks after it was revealed that 39 street homeless people had died in Glasgow between May 2016 and March 2017, highlighting a growing crisis in the west coast city.

The charity Shelter Scotland estimate that about 5,000 people sleep rough in Scotland.

Nearly one in four women are victims of sexual assault and both men and women often develop drug and alcohol addictions while on the streets.

Ann Landels, director of Crisis Scotland, said: “These are truly awful figures, and a desperate reminder of the dangers faced by those who have no choice but to sleep on the streets.

“Scotland has made considerable progress in the fight against homelessness, but we’ve seen rising demand for rough sleeper shelters in Glasgow and Edinburgh over the winter, and homelessness is increasingly visible on the streets of our cities.

“We are concerned that behind the statistics there may be growing numbers who have simply fallen off the radar.”

Adam Lang, head of policy at Shelter Scotland, said: “It is simply shameful and unacceptable that this is happening in 21st century Scotland.

“Each one of these deaths represents a human life lost too soon. And while we can’t be sure that all of them are directly attributable to homelessness, they are tragic and deeply concerning.”

Jan Williamson, head of services at Streetwork – a charity offering outreach services to rough sleepers in the capital – said that the figure could well be higher as information was often not shared between third sector, NHS and local authority services.

“It is very difficult to know accurately how many lives and years are lost to homelessness as there is no systematic recording or tracking system in place,” she added.

They urged both local and Scottish governments to tackle the problem.

A spokeswoman for the City of Edinburgh Council said: “Protecting vulnerable people continues to be our key priority.

“We are committed to reducing homelessness across Edinburgh and with partner agencies offer an extensive range of services to people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, from support and advice on housing options, to assessment services and accommodation.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said Scotland has some of the strongest housing rights for homeless people anywhere in the world but added: “We recognise that for some people, who may have more complex needs or be rough sleeping, simply providing accommodation is not always enough to address their homelessness.

“The avoidable death of any vulnerable person without our society is deeply regrettable and cause for concern.”