DROPPING temperatures and a cardboard box replaced the creature comforts of a warm bed for fund-raisers.

They may not have got their full 40 winks but 40 people braved the elements to take part in this year’s Sleep Easy at Worcester’s YMCA on Friday evening.

Fund-raisers slept outside the hostel in Henwick Road, St John’s, Worcester, in cardboard boxes and sleeping bags to raise money for the charity’s work in the city.

They kept warm by creating their very own version of the Harlem Shake video as well as played mega ball and took part in sing-alongs.

Kathy Whittall, development team leader at the hostel, said she managed just over an hour’s sleep during the evening.

“It was very uncomfortable, I was in a box with a sleeping bag and no pillow, but thankfully there was no rain.

“It was a long, cold night but that was the idea because it wasn’t meant to be a walk in the park, we wanted a challenge. “There was a real sense of comaraderie among everyone and in the morning there was actually a sense of euphoria having completed the challenge.”

She thanked everyone who took part as well as Storage King who responded to a plea in your Worcester News for cardboard boxes.

The Worcester branch of the YMCA will be given all the money raised during their event from the national charity which will go to its Welfare Fund.

Residents will then be asked what they want to spend the money on which is expected to be between £1,500 and £2,000.