LOCAL people are being asked to sleep out at night this autumn, and to raise funds for a homelessness charity at the same time.

St Basil's, a local charity which works with homeless young people across Worcestershire, is urging the community to spend one possibly chilly night under the sky at Sixways, the home of the Worcester Warriors, on Thursday, November 6.

St Basil's is working with Worcester Warriors to support youth homelessness prevention services and the charity is looking for people to take on the sponsored challenge, - and to give up their beds for one night only.

Fundraising Officer and event organiser, Anne Morton of St Basils, said: "The SleepOut is designed to help people think about those who don't have a safe home and understand what young people might have to experience if there weren't services to help them.

"Taking part in this event will directly assist young people and families in the local community and help ensure there are services to support those in crisis."

She added: "We are delighted to have secured such an exciting venue for this event and we are delighted to have the support of Worcester Warriors – a club which also works with homeless people as part of their community programme. "Like rugby, SleepOut is a tough challenge but it can be a lot of fun as well and is an opportunity to meet like-minded people from the local community.”

Warriors Community Foundation Manager Carol Hart said: "Youth homelessness is an issue which we continue to support and we are excited to be able to host this event at Sixways.

"Last season we set-up a homeless rugby team, supporting people at Worcester's YMCA centre so we are well aware of the issues that homelessness brings.

"The club will be putting on entertainment throughout the evening so it would be fantastic to see many of our supporters here at Sixways on the night.”

Registration for the event costs £25. To sign-up, visit www.stbasils.org.uk/eyhsleepout