Homeless people arriving in Oxford are being given a one-way ticket back to their home town, to reduce the number of people sleeping rough in the city.

Last year, council staff working with rough sleepers claimed that other cities were advising homeless people to travel to Oxford because they would find excellent medical care and night shelters.

A count by the Government's Rough Sleepers Unit showed that 24 people were living on the streets in June last year.

The figure put Oxford ahead of larger cities, including Manchester with 17 and Birmingham with 19.

As a result, the city council is taking steps to tackle the influx of homeless people who choose to come to Oxford because they believe they will receive good treatment.

One measure is to provide them with travel vouchers to help them return to their home towns, if they have no connection with Oxford.

Labour councillor Susanna Pressell, a member of the economic and social well-being committee, which met yesterday and is considering the issue, said: "This might seem uncharitable to some people.

"But others will be delighted because there is a common perception that Oxford is a soft touch, and we need to get away from that.

"If people arrive in the city and they cannot prove they have a genuine claim, they will be dealt with fairly and given a travel voucher.

"The cost of operating a travel voucher scheme is nothing compared to the mounting costs of trying to tackle homelessness."

The council's contact and assessment team is responsible for operating the travel voucher scheme.

John Adcock, operations and outreach manager, said staff were not intending to be uncharitable when they handed out travel vouchers.

He added that homeless people who approached the council, through one of its centres or outreach workers, would be interviewed to find out if they were already receiving medical treatment, possibly for drug addiction.

Medical centres are also contacted in the homeless person's home town, so that their treatment can continue.

Once travel vouchers have been issued, contact and assessment staff sometimes accompany the homeless person to bus or train stations to make sure transport connections are not missed.

Mr Adcock added: "There are good services in the city but they are running at capacity and there is a shortage of beds.

"People coming to Oxford might not be able to access a bed, then they face sleeping rough in very cold temperatures."

Since October 9 last year, 16 people have been given travel vouchers to return home.

Last year, the city council's housing department threatened neighbouring local authorities with a judicial review after it was alleged that some local authorities were suggesting to homeless people that they should move to Oxford.