NZ Politics

An Auckland woman who gave tents and sleeping bags to a group of rough sleepers says she stopped council workers from removing the items a few days later.

A few days later, Scott was walking past, when workers exited an Auckland Council van with black rubbish sacks and started collecting the belongings.

She said the men who slept there were absent, but had stashed the tents and sleeping bags in a small pile under the shelter.

"They had found the place where the people had stashed all their warm stuff to sleep in and they were pulling it down out of its place. I walked straight up to them and said, 'Do not take their stuff - what are they going to do? They've got nothing else to keep them warm and it's been freezing this week'."

Scott said the council workers left without taking the rough sleepers' belongings, but she was horrified they had tried to collect it.

"It's upsetting and I don't know what the answer is, but taking people stuff from them is definitely not the answer," she said. "Imagine coming back from your day and you're about to bed down to sleep on some concrete stairs, and someone's taken your last warmth or barrier for that.

"I just think it's cruel."

On Tuesday, Auckland Council's Community Committee will discuss a report that updates the number of homeless living on Auckland's streets. The number of homeless people rose to 809 in May this year - a 90 percent increase since last September.