Homeless people should be helped, not labelled as criminals, says one man who got himself off the streets and is now a city councillor studying at university.

As a teenager, Patrick Murray suffered from clinical depression and ended up sleeping rough on Oxford's streets but he turned his life around and now studies politics and international relations at Brookes University.

Patrick Murray The 24-year-old, who was elected as the Liberal Democrat city councillor for Barton and Sandhills, was shocked to see people sleeping rough included in the antisocial behaviour category of the new Community Safety Strategy for Oxford.

He said: "The definition of antisocial behaviour is behaviour that can cause alarm, harassment or distress.

"If you are asleep you can't harass anyone and if people are alarmed or distressed by people sleeping on the streets they should donate money to the Oxford Poverty Action Trust (Oxpat).

"I am really annoyed by this categorisation as it spoils what is otherwise a very good document. I would like to see that line taken out.

"It sticks in the gut because Oxford City Council does a lot of good work with homeless people and the new night shelter is brilliant."

O'Hanlon House, the £4m night shelter opened in Luther Street in January to tackle the highest rate of homelessness outside London.

The problem costs £4.5m a year and inspired Mr Murray to stand for the council.

Mick McAndrews, a former city and county councillor has also experienced life on the streets.

After a spell sleeping rough, he spent time in drugs rehab in Glasgow and a hostel before getting a council flat. The former Plater College student moved to Oxford after being clean for two years.

Mr McAndrews said: "A lot of people who are sleeping rough are involved in antisocial behaviour -- it goes with the ground.

"Not everyone sleeping rough is involved in crime but some homeless people will do things without caring about the consequences of being arrested."

Susan Brown, the city council's executive member for crime and community safety, said: "We have told the Home Office we don't think it is particularly helpful to define rough sleeping within antisocial behaviour, but it is something the Government has laid down.

"Having said that, a lot of people consider it a problem and it is something we are working very hard to deal with, with a great degree of success."

The strategy document was produced by the Oxford Safer Communities Partnership which includes city and county councils, police, the fire service, offenders' and drugs services.