The Crown star Jonathan Pryce has unveiled a 4.3-metre tall statue of a person experiencing homelessness in King’s Cross for the charity Crisis.

Artist Sophie de Oliveira Barata used face mapping technology to combine the features of 17 homeless people for the 2.5-tonne sculpture named Alex.

New research by Crisis has revealed that 300,000 British households could be forced into homelessness in 2023, with thousands sleeping on the streets, sofa surfing and living in temporary accommodation.

“The government needs to do a lot more about social housing and affordable housing,” the actor said.

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