HOMELESSNESS charities have hit back at claims by MBI councillors that they are encouraging prison inmates to move to Morecambe.

On the eve of a last ditch bid to rescue funding for the groups, Cllr Tony Wade claimed that Homeless Action was leafleting Kirkham and Preston prisons to invite prisoners to live in the resort on their release.

He said his comments were intended to show the public why the Tory and MBI groups, along with four Labour councillors, had voted in favour of funding cuts.

Cllr Wade said he had no evidence himself to support the claim, adding: "I think it's important that people know why we voted as we did. In my opinion, there's no smoke without fire."

But Lancaster Homeless Action manager Margaret Douglas hit back saying: "We do not advertise in prisons. We have enough clients locally without inviting prisoners to live here."

She added that she had contacted Kirkham prison and Lancaster Farms YOI after the claims were first made.

Kirkham had yet to respond but she had been told by Lancaster Farms that no such material existed at that prison.

Homeless charities will find out for certain today if they are to loose their funding from the city council.

The council's finance and corporate policy committee meets to debate a proposal by Green and Liberal Democrat councillors to allocate any additional savings found during the year to the five charities.

All will be funded in full until the end of June, but from then on Morecambe and Lancaster Homeless Action are to receive just £2,000 each for the rest of the year, while Lancaster and District Night Shelter gets £800.

The two other charities, Morecambe NCH Action for Children and Signposts, also based in Morecambe, will get nothing.

A meeting of the council's housing policy committee voted in favour of the cuts in service after Conservative and some Labour councillors voted with the MBI to support the cuts in funding.

Margaret Douglas says she is optimistic that funding will be restored.

"Looking at the make-up of the committee, we are very hopeful," she explained: "But even if this committee votes in favour, it will still have to go to full council, so we would not be out of the woods.

"We are not thinking about what will happen if we don't get the money because at the moment we are thinking positively.

"Looking at the media, there has only been one letter in the local newspapers which has been critical of us.

"What we want to do is work with the MBIs and the other political groups on the council."

In his letter, Cllr Wade said: "I believe the people of this district do not want ex-convicts from other parts of the country being funded from Council coffers to come and live in this area, but would rather see their money being spent on the genuine homeless people from this district."