An eight-year-old boy heartbreakingly asked his mum "how is Santa going to find me if we are homeless?" after they were evicted from their flat.
The young lad called Marcel and his widowed mum, Sarah, found themselves without a home just weeks before Christmas, forcing them to move into a hotel room.
Marcel, who has learning difficulties, couldn't understand why he no longer had his own bedroom. His mum shared his heartbreaking words, saying: "He shouldn't have to worry about whether he's going to get presents or not."
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The family's plight was highlighted as part of an investigation into the hidden homeless crisis in Wales. The government described the number of people living in temporary accommodation as a "health crisis". Marcel told the BBC: "It gets a little bit lonely with no visitors. And pets are not allowed."
Cardiff Council admitted it was facing "unprecedented demand" for temporary shelter, with 1,700 households needing a roof over their heads. So far, the council has had to rehome 202 families in hotels.
Meanwhile, wider government statistics revealed the shocking extent of people facing Christmas and winter without a proper home.
New figures reveal that nearly 139,000 children in England are living without a permanent home.
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This is part of the 105,000 households in temporary accommodation – the highest number in 25 years and up by 10.5% from last June.
Julie James, the Welsh government Housing Minister, has labelled the situation as a "health crisis". She said that without temporary shelter, many families would be homeless.
"We are going as fast as we absolutely can to get both the transitional accommodation programme up and running," she stated, adding they were aiming to build "20,000 decent, social homes for rent".
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