As the economic crisis bites, tent cities and permanent car parks are springing up all over the US for people living in cars and trailers. In Reno, Nevada - the state with the highest home repossession rate - such a community has sprung up on the outskirts, quickly filling up with about 150 people, including Mary Jackson, left, and Marian Schamp.

More than 60 per cent of homeless organisations say they have witnessed an increase in homelessness since the foreclosure crisis began last year, according to a study by the National Coalition for the Homeless based in Washington.