At least 254 households have been moved to Gravesham by other local authorities in the past three years and the council is limited in what it can do to stem the flow, we can reveal.

In response to a Messenger Freedom of Information request, we discovered since April 2015 Bexley has rehomed 179 families and individuals in the borough, with 65 coming from Bromley, and one from Tower Hamlets.

Only nine came from outside London, eight from Dartford and one from Tonbridge and Malling.

Gravesham has received no money from any of those councils during the period.

In both 2015/16 and 2016/17, 105 placements were made while the number dropped to 44 last year.

The council’s hands are somewhat tied as many people are placed into private housing with dozens of Bexley households living in rented flats in Parrock Street.

"They then can’t afford to live and become homeless..." - Steve Nolan, homeless shelter Sanctuary

While every authority has a legal duty to inform Gravesham of any placements this does not always happen, says cabinet member for housing Cllr Antony Pritchard.

He added: “We are unable to proactively prevent the number of those with a need for temporary accommodation being moved to Gravesham. We are working with authorities to ensure notification procedures are applied.

“We are not able to evidence a rise in homelessness caused by these placements. The authority placing the household retains legal responsibility dependant on the reason for the placement. Should the household placed here become homeless, through no fault of their own, the authority which placed them would retain the housing duty and have to find alternative accommodation.”

But that’s also not always happening, says Steve Nolan who runs homeless shelter Sanctuary with wife Lorna.

He said: “I’m told by our guests these people’s benefits are cut because they’re living in a cheaper area. They then can’t afford to live and become homeless and when that happens and they go back to their borough for assistance they’re told they’re no longer its responsibility.”

In 2017 the number of rough sleepers in Gravesham more than doubled to 92, according to charity Porchlight, which surveys the street population over the course of the year.

Both Sanctuary, based at Gravesend Methodist Church, and Dartford’s winter shelter were fully booked this year, continuing a long-running trend.

Bexley has rehoused by far the largest number of people despite 1,469 homes sitting empty in the area, 475 of which had been unoccupied for at least six month at the last count.

A spokesman for Bexley council said: “In common with local authorities across London, Bexley faces serious challenges around homelessness this means that on occasions households have to be placed outside of the borough.

“We are proactive in bringing these back into use. We actively encourage owners to get in contact and provide grants and loans to them in exchange for use as accommodation for homeless families to help maximise the housing stock available.”