YORK has a housing crisis, in fact a survey published yesterday, by Halifax, named the city one of Britain's most expensive places for property. A square metre here will set you back £2,024, compared to just £910 in Aberdare, Wales, and that means many people have to rent because they simply can't afford to buy a home.

But they are the lucky ones compared to those who are forced to live on the street. And life has just got even harder for the homeless with City of York Council fitting metal bars on benches in Rougier Street to stop people sleeping on them.

Not surprisingly the move has sparked a backlash and Alan Crowe of the charity Restore, which provides housing for the homeless, tells us more provisions should be put into such projects rather than spending money on spikes and bars.

We agree. After all there must be a more creative way of solving the problem and in any case, what sort of message does this measure send out?