Homeless flats that can monitor occupants approved

Emergency facilities for the homeless which contain technology that can monitor occupants' breathing are set to be opened this summer.

The Salvation Army applied to provide the four "micro-flats" in Reading, Berkshire, each with their own bed, toilet and washing facilities, and they were approved last month.

They will be built at the charity's Willow House Lifehouse site in Willow Street as part of the Nighttime Accommodation Project (NAPpad) with Reading Borough Council to provide more accommodation in the town.

Matt Yeo, the council's lead councillor for housing, said they will be used as the "first stage of getting people off the streets" before their needs can be assessed and met.

Previously the Salvation Army said the units, which have been installed across the country, use non-invasive "vital life signs" sensors that can detect if someone has stopped breathing.