WISBECH is in desperate need of a soup kitchen to feed the town’s homeless, a charity worker has revealed.

Jill Sandy, a volunteer advice worker at the Rosmini Centre, says she knows of at least 25 people who sleep rough in the town and have to rummage through bins for food.

She said: “I have become increasingly concerned about the homeless problem in Wisbech.

“Since working at the Rosmini I have been aware of the number of people the staff are attempting to feed, each day, with no financial help.

“I think the time has come to provide some sort of soup kitchen facility similar to the one provided in Peterborough for many years.

“They provide hot soup, hot drinks and bread, served from a van, each day.”

One of Wisbech’s homeless community spoke of the daily horror of life on the town’s streets.

Mateusz (not his real name) has lived in Wisbech since he left Lithuania in 2004.

He has worked in a factory but was made homeless in July.

He said: “In the streets there are people who have to go through bins of get food.

“Some people are committing crimes just to get in prison where they know they will get three meals a day and be somewhere warm.

“When Greggs closes they check in the bins to see if there are any leftover bits of bread or cake. Whatever we find is shared out between the group.”

Mateusz says a soup kitchen would make a big difference to Wisbech’s homeless community.

He said: “A soup kitchen would help because it would allow people to enjoy some warm food during the day.

“People could then stay away from the bins and would not need to shoplift to survive so crime would be reduced.”

Mrs Sandy is encouraged by proposals to set up a food bank in Wisbech but feels more could still be done to improve the plight of the town’s homeless.

She said: “A food bank is great but we still need to address the issue of a soup kitchen in the town.

“This is something I feel strongly about. We should be aware of the problem and doing something about it.”