They say the true measure of society is judged by the way we treat our most vulnerable members, if that is the case and we regard ourselves as a member of that society, then most of us should be thoroughly ashamed.

You may ask the reason I should make that statement, well rising early on a Sunday morning (June 11) and with the weather being quite decent, I decided I would have a cycle ride around Norwich city centre as this is a great time to have a look around our 'fine city' with little distraction.

But, during what I thought would be a pleasant journey, I was absolutely shocked - yes, shocked - by the number of people sleeping rough.

Yes, I have heard various voluntary bodies talk about it and have seen one or two during the day, but not on this scale I witnessed. There are people all over the place, some in shop doorways on nothing more than a piece of cardboard and a grubby blanket, and in some of the larger doorways there are groups of up to 10 people, some appearing to be little more than children, both men and women. And these are only the ones that I could see, many will be hidden so we must assume the problem is very large indeed.

I even saw one chap sleeping next to his wheelchair. I really couldn't believe the problem had got that bad, but undoubtedly it has.

Surely our MPs Chloe Smith and Clive Lewis and others need to curtail their current agenda and deal with what is a serious problem right on their doorsteps.

Do you think these homeless people care about getting to London in 90 minutes or the privatisation of the NHS? Doubt it.