CITY homeless charities are backing a campaign to leave out warm clothing for the homeless.

The initiative called "I am not lost" sees people tie warm items to lampposts, railings and trees across the county with a note attached saying: “I Am Not Lost, if you are cold, take me to stay warm”

On February 24 at 6pm, The Worcestershire Homeless Appeal is inviting residents to take out the items in support of the nationwide campaign held across the country.

Ashlea Stone, from the Worcestershire Homeless Appeal said: “We got the idea from Keep Bristol Warm which did it last year and invited us to get involved and we are hoping to get as many people to take part as possible.

“We are doing it in all the main parts of the county so on the night people can meet outside the guildhall in Worcester, the library in Droitwich and Wilko in Malvern.

“If people cannot make February 24, they are more than welcome to go out and leave the scarves with a note whenever they like.

Mel Kirk, from the Maggs Day Centre in Worcester said: “Anything that gets people thinking about the homeless and doing something to help is a good thing, and it would be great if the campaign could be unified and co-ordinated across different groups as the donations would be much more effective.”

Earlier this week, The Worcester News reported on the Government figures, which showed that, of the number of rough sleepers in Worcester, 19 of the 24 were male.

Throughout the recent cold snap, the city’s night shelter has been opening to rough sleepers as part of the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP).

Rough sleeping in the Midlands has ‘significantly increased’ according to a new study. Data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government released on Thursday shows an increase in rough sleeping across the country of 2,909 since records began in 2010 with an estimated 4,667 people sleeping rough. The figures show the number of rough sleepers in the West Midlands has increased to 420 since 2010, when there were 182 rough sleepers in the region. The number of rough sleepers in Worcester has doubled in that time from 12 to 24.