HOSTELS in the city are at maximum capacity due to the number of rough sleepers seeking shelter from freezing temperatures.

Maggs Day Centre has hosted a night shelter every evening for over a week, although it ran out of beds on three nights.

St Paul's Hostel, in Tallow Hill, Worcester, has been full - apart from on two days - since the end of October.

Jonathan Sutton, chief executive of St Paul's Hostel, which has 46 beds, said: "This is an extreme weather condition.

"It's the worst winter in my memory. The demand and the pressure it's placing on us is the worst I've seen.

"If homelessness is to continue to rise as reports say it will - over five to 10 years - how are we going to cope with another event like this? Demand will outstrip supply."

Ross Webber, project manager for Caring for Communities and People (CCP), which operates the night shelter at Maggs Day Centre, added: "It's not a good thing if the provision gets full. I don't want there to be people sleeping on the streets."

However Mr Webber said the centre is handling the extra demand.

The night shelter at Maggs Day Centre, which has 18 beds, received 21 people on Friday, February 23, 20 people on Tuesday, February 27, and 19 people on Wednesday, February 28.

Mr Webber added that his team sends any rough sleepers it cannot cater for to the YMCA, in Henwick Road, Worcester.

The YMCA hostel provides floorspace, sleeping bags and roll mats to the homeless, as part of the No Second Night Out programme.

Maggs Day Centre, in Deansway, Worcester, will open from 10am to 1pm tomorrow [Friday] and on Saturday to help deal with the extra demand.

The night shelter at the centre starts accepting rough sleepers at 9.30pm and opens when temperatures drop below zero degrees.

CCP runs the night shelter through the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP), which is part of the Homelessness Prevention Engagement Scheme contract for Worcester City Council.

If you see a rough sleeper who needs help you can report them through www.streetlink.org.uk/