Hundreds of properties are sitting empty in Copeland each year, while households in the area continue to be faced with homelessness, figures show.

Campaigners say abandoned dwellings should be repurposed to tackle England's housing crisis.

Figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show there were at least 685 empty properties in Copeland at the most recent count in October – down 20% from 861 last year.

Of those, 562 had been gathering dust for six months or more, and at least 237 had been abandoned for more than two years.

The figures, which cover properties subject to council tax, also show 874 dwellings in the area were listed as second homes last month.

Different DLUHC figures show in 2020-21, 283 households in Copeland were entitled to council support after becoming homeless or at risk of homelessness.

The Local Government Association has called on the Government to give local authorities greater powers to acquire empty homes.

A spokesman for the LGA, which represents councils, said: “At a time when we face a chronic housing shortage across the country and high levels of homelessness, it is wrong for so many homes to be left empty."

Across England, the number of empty homes – dwellings that are unoccupied and unfurnished – fell by 2% to 468,000, while the number of second homes dropped by 4% to 253,300.

Owners of properties which have laid empty for two years or more can be charged an extra 100% council tax on top of their bill – rising to as much as 300% if the home has been empty for a decade or longer.

Nationally, around 72,000 dwellings were subject to a council tax premium in October, around a fifth of which had been abandoned for between five and 10 years.

In 2020-21, councils across the country identified more than 268,000 households as homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said the country's housing emergency is ruining lives, adding that it was deeply frustrating to see properties sitting empty "when so many people are desperate for a home".