With Cape Town in the grip of a cold front, city shelters for the homeless say they are struggling to cope with the demand for beds.

One shelter will use its dining room to make temporary bed space, and two other shelters say they turn away an average of three people a day as they've run out of room.

Graeme Thompson of Elim Night Shelter, Elsies River, said there was "not a single empty bed" in their 65-bed shelter and they were turning away three to four people a day. They were also receiving calls from organisations and churches asking if they had beds available.

The Haven Night Shelter organisation, which has 14 shelters around Cape Town, reported a "normal" upswing in demand during winter.

Chief executive Hassan Khan said Haven had 923 beds across their shelters, but would create temporary bed spaces in dining halls.

Haven was given R300 000 by the city's Social Development Department for winter.

Ntombi Nkanyuza, supervisor of the Ikhaya Labantu shelter in Langa, said it was full, with about 60 people, including 20 refugees. About three people were being turned away daily. "We are not getting anything from the government, but we are still waiting because we applied for funding this year," she said.

The city's social development facilities manager Lungelo Nokwaza said they estimated there were about 1 100 people living on the streets

He said the city was trying to get provincial buildings transferred to the city to use as shelters. - West Cape News