Councillor Lynda Thorne, Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said: "This is a tragic loss of life and our thoughts are with the family at this difficult time. The Police have confirmed that this is a non-suspicious death and we will now have to wait for the findings of the coroner's inquest to understand why this happened.

"I know that people will ask if we are doing enough to help the homeless and, in the face of a tragic death, we must always ask ourselves how this was allowed to happen. But I want people to know there is no need to sleep outside at night and if people in need engage with us we will do everything we can to help them.

"We provide a wide range of services to help people. Our Outreach team works 7 days a week both during the day and into the evening to engage with people sleeping rough or who are at risk of sleeping rough. We also work with homeless charities such as Huggard, the Salvation Army, Wallich and the YMCA to provide hostel accommodation, a day centre for the homeless, and a night bus service. There is no need for anyone to have to sleep out.

"However, we can't deny that some individuals who sleep rough often have enormously complex issues and in some circumstances choose not to access our accommodation. In these circumstances, our Outreach team works directly with them on a daily basis. Sixteen rough sleepers were assisted into accommodation during October this year and a total of 119 rough sleepers have been assisted into accommodation since April.

"We've also recently agreed funding for a number of innovative housing projects to help address rough sleeping in the city and these projects will commence shortly. We are working towards ending rough sleeping in Cardiff, but this news is deeply saddening for everyone who works in the sector and beyond."