Read the story of one woman's housing crisis here.

The charity Shelter says thousands of people suffer housing problems every year because they receive little or bad advice about how to cope.

Source: UK figures, Shelter

It found that many people who face homelessness do not realise that they have certain legal rights.

Shelter's Deputy Director Louise Casey said the free phoneline is the charity's "most ambitious project ever".

Work started on Shelterline two years ago and a pilot project has been running in London since 1996. The helpline's headquarters are in Sheffield and will be operated by 30 housing experts.

The system will offer callers access to a vast database of information. As well as details about what beds are available for the night and the ability to book them there and then, housing officers will also have information about housing legislation and sort out the next step for the caller.

Bad advice

Deputy Director of Shelter Louise Casey said: "It's helping people on their terms. I can go and pay my gas bill at 3am from a payphone if I want to, why can't people threatened with homelessness get the help they need, when they need it?

"Domestic violence does not happen within working hours, and we need to be able to respond to it."

In a survey of more than 1,200 people facing homelessness the charity found that more than half were adversely affected because they did not receive information at the right time.

It also found that more than one quarter received bad advice that made their situation worse. In 15% of cases the local authorities made the wrong decision when they were approached for help.

Ms Casey said: "Some of the cases we see are beyond belief. It is unbelievable that a woman who has been beaten for years and who finally summons up the courage to flee with her children, is told by a local authority that she has made herself intentionally homeless and will get no help."

The sooner the better

However, the charity acknowledges that Britain's housing system is so complex that it is not surprising mistakes get made.

The charity believes that 40% of the housing problems could have been reduced if people had got help sooner.

Where the charity did intervene it claimed an 80% success rate in preventing homelessness where people were at risk of losing their home.

In the last year the charity has dealt with around 100,000 people through its national network of housing advice centres. With the advent of the helpline, which is also supported by British Telecom, the charity expects this figure to treble.

Ms Casey said: "I'm just really hopeful that people will come to us early and give us a shout when they get that first letter. We can save them a lot of pain, by keeping them in their home."

Shelterline 0808 800 4444