Peter went public about his homeless situation in a desperate plea for help. His council responded, but not in the caring way you would think

A homeless father who went public with his appalling living conditions to raise awareness of the conditions has been told by his council to move on.

Peter Woodforde, 58, is one of four men living in the garden shed at the back of the Salvation Army office on Reservoir Road in Modbury, northeast Adelaide.

Mr Woodforde has been living in the makeshift shelter for the past 18 months after several local councils forced him to move.

The father, who has a teenage daughter, made his living situation public in May to raise awareness of the dire conditions.

The City of Tea Tree Gully has now claimed that the Salvation Army had not been given approval to set up the temporary accommodation and that the group had been ordered to move.

The men living at the site with Mr Woodforde are aged between 30 and 80.

Mr Woodforde said the group had been given until the end of August to leave the area after complaints from locals about tents set up near residential properties.

He said he fears the men have run out of options to find another place to live.

Mr Woodforde asked those raising concerns to have compassion for those who are struggling.

“Until people are put in this situation, how much thought process do they put into it before they open their mouth and say something?” he told 7 News.

“If it happened to them tomorrow, or to someone they loved, how devastated would they be?”

Mr Woodforde previously said his children would be devastated to see him living in a garden shed wrapped in tarpaulin.

Mr Woodforde claims the men aged between 30 and 80 will have to find somewhere else to live after complaints from local residents

Mr Woodforde’s teenage daughter, who lives with her mother, had previously told him it “hurt her” to know her father was struggling.

A Salvation Army spokesperson said the men have been provided with basic amenities such as food, a place to shower and facilities to do their laundry.

“The Salvos are proactively working with the North Western Homelessness Alliance to support these community members,” a spokesperson said.

The men will have to vacate the tent, but so far no legal notice has been issued to them indicating when exactly they should seek an alternative form of accommodation.

Mayor Marija Ryan of the city of Tea Tree Gully said earlier that the municipality is trying to find a place where the men can stay until they receive emergency shelter.

Emergency shelters for rough sleepers, including St Vincent’s De Paul, are operating at full capacity in Adelaide.

The charity has been forced to turn away as many as 15 men a day who have asked for help.

The Hutt Centre, an organization that provides a range of support services to homeless people in Adelaide, saw a 25 per cent increase in the number of people needing help in April, compared to the same time last year.

The SA Housing Authority, a government agency that helps people in the state access affordable housing, estimates that the average wait time for social housing for Category 1 applicants is about 18 months.

Category 1 applicants are those who need immediate housing because they are likely to be homeless for an extended period of time.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the SA Housing Authority, The Salvation Army and the City of Tea Tree Gully Council for further comment.

Mr Woodforde (pictured) fears the men will struggle to find another place to live as homeless shelters and emergency accommodation services operate at full capacity