In a bid to ease the housing crisis, a leading property developer has offered Croydon Council nearly 100 homes in Manchester and Walsall.

The move could see dozens of homeless families offered the chance to move to the West Midlands or Lancashire.

But according to Councillor Dudley Mead, Croydon's cabinet member for housing, finance and asset management, said a deal remains some way off.

"To receive offers of such a large amount of accommodation is very encouraging," he told This Is Croydon.

"It's a significant amount. If I had three times that number it would solve our problem. It's early days but I would be looking for a minimum of a five-year lease, possibly ten."

Due to the social housing crisis, an increasing number of families are being put up in bed and breakfasts or hotels.

Indeed, the number of homeless families in this situation increased fivefold in three years.