A York woman said she was “disgusted” to see graffiti with an abusive message towards homeless people in the city.

The message was drawn in chalk on the pavement outside the Principal Hotel near York railway station in Station Road.

It said homeless people “need shower” and “#putting down”.

Resident Helen Leavey said she was on her way to the station this morning (Wednesday, April 17) to catch a train to Edinburgh when she saw people staring at the “outrageous” graffiti before reading it herself.

“Who has the urge to write such bile? And then actually grab some chalk and crouch down to write all that? And was it one person, or a group, that did it? Whoever, it’s sickening,” the mother of two told The Press.

“I don’t think homeless people choose to be homeless. Such toxic words are representative of a really unpleasant aspect of our society.

“I was heartened though, by other passers-by also saying it was outrageous. Hopefully most people would see these comments as despicable.

"If I’d not been about to get on a train, I’d have happily scrubbed them off.”

'There continues to be a stigma attached to homelessness within our society'

Linsey Trower from youth homeless prevention charity Safe and Sound Homes (SASH) told The Press it was “sad to see such a lack of understanding surrounding the issues and trauma that many homeless people suffer”.

“Unfortunately, there continues to be a stigma attached to homelessness within our society.  

“Many of the young people SASH support find themselves facing homelessness due to no fault of their own. 

“Some are fleeing abuse, others can no longer stay in their family home because it’s unsafe to do so, some are unaccompanied asylum-seeking children while others are care leavers and need support on their journey into independent living.”

She added: “For homeless people to be judged in such a negative manner within our community is extremely upsetting and highlights the need for better education surrounding the issue and understanding towards fellow human beings.

“It should be a basic human right for everyone to have somewhere safe to stay, and as a local community we need to pull together to build and support people that are homeless or are facing homelessness with compassion and kindness to help them build a brighter future for themselves and the community in which they live.”

A spokesperson for homeless charity Changing Lives, which runs the homeless hostel in Union Terrace, told The Press they were "saddened to see" the graffiti.

"Unfortunately for the people we work with, who are experiencing homelessness, being stigmatised, and discriminated against is far too common," they said.

"In a climate when homeless figures are at their highest across the country, we ask for compassion and support, and we want to make it clear that homelessness does not discriminate it can happen to anyone."