NEARLY £3.4 million is likely to be spent buying 15 new homes to provide temporary accommodation for Somerset families.

More than 12,000 people are currently on the housing register in Somerset, with some families in bed-and-breakfast accommodation until more permanent lodgings can be secured.

Families are currently spend an average of six to nine months in temporary accommodation, and single people even longer.

Somerset Council housing director Kirsty Larkin said the highest demand was in the west and north of the county, which was likely to be where the authority would start to buy, depending on supply.

Executive Cllr Federica Smith-Roberts said the purchases were made possible because of a £3.37 million underspend on the council’s housing revenue account for social housing and maintenance.