City of Edinburgh Council, responding to a Freedom of Information request, revealed that 10 men and eight women assessed to be homeless died while sleeping rough between April 2015 and March 2016.

It comes not long after Glasgow City Council revealed to the Sunday Herald that at least 39 rough sleepers died on Glasgow streets between May 2016 and March 2017.

Ann Landels, director of Crisis Scotland, told The Ferret: “These are truly awful figures, and a desperate reminder of the dangers faced by those who have no choice but to sleep on the streets.

“Scotland has made considerable progress in the fight against homelessness, but we’ve seen rising demand for rough sleeper shelters in Glasgow and Edinburgh over the winter, and homelessness is increasingly visible on the streets of our cities.

“We are concerned that behind the statistics there may be growing numbers who have simply fallen off the radar.”

Adam Lang, head of policy at Shelter Scotland, added: “It is simply shameful and unacceptable that this is happening in 21st century Scotland. Sadly, we know that homelessness is still far from fixed in Edinburgh and across Scotland today.

“Each one of these deaths represents a human life lost too soon. And while we can’t be sure that all of them are directly attributable to homelessness, they are tragic and deeply concerning.”