A homeless man has spoken of his two years of “sheer hell” on the streets of Shepway.

Graham Shorland, 42, slept next to Hythe Canal for the majority of last summer and claims his two-year-old Staffordshire terrier Nala has hindered his chances of being housed, but he won’t give her up.

He said: “She has more or less done her whole life on the streets.

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"I have been asked whether I would give her up but for me, not under any circumstances.

“I got her when my father died and she has been there the whole time.

“I feel like I shouldn’t be victimised for having a pet.”

He said Nala has been his sole companion and that he has been assured he will be housed when a place comes up.

Mr Shorland, who used to work at Dungeness power station, said he is unable to work due to an industrial accident and relies on benefits.

In December he was hit by a car in Folkestone and, while his leg is in a cast, he has been staying on a friend’s sofa in Cheriton.

Mr Shorland says he has been lucky to have this temporary shelter as temperatures plummeted to below freezing.

Mr Shorland’s ordeal started in 2014 when he was sharing a flat in Dover Road with a tenant who decided to move on and, unable to afford both bedrooms, he was left with no choice but to sleep in shop fronts and rely on friends to put him up whenever they could.

“I feel like I shouldn’t be victimised for having a pet” - Graham Shorland

He said he has lost more than three stone and that he often skips meals due to a lack of money, although Nala is still being fed.

He added: “It has just been two years of sheer hell and the council has had me jumping through hoops.

“I am going to get offered a place when it comes up but things have not been progressing.”

Shepway District Council’s information booklet on rehoming homeless people with pets says: “Some council or housing associations may not allow pets in their properties, this should be indicated on the property advert.

“Applicants will be asked on their application if they have pets and if they do would they be prepared to make other arrangements for their pets in order to increase their choice of properties.

“If an applicant has indicated that they would not be prepared to make other arrangements for their pets and the property they bid on does not allow pets, they will not be considered for that property.”

Mr Shorland has set up a Facebook page called Homes for the Homeless and said he hopes to team up with other organisations to help people with similar experiences.