STAFF hurriedly cover the floor of the hall with camping mats as an impatient crowd of the city's homeless gathers outside, eager to be in the warmth of the night shelter.

The doors open at 9.30pm and a steady queue filters in, helping themselves to donated sleeping bags and blankets to prepare their beds on the floor.

A man staggers in, supporting his friend Richard Kilburn.

Staff tell me that 'Richie' is epileptic and sometimes has fits while waiting outside.

The 45-year-old is believed to have been drinking alcohol while on his medication, so his friends have clubbed together for a taxi to take him to the city centre shelter.

Thanks to the generosity of Worcester News readers, Richie and 14 others like him will have somewhere safe to sleep tonight, after you raised almost £11,000 for our Give Them Shelter Appeal, to help fund a night shelter at the Maggs Day Centre in St Albans, Worcester.

In just two weeks in December, readers donated £10,000 to the appeal, which is now closed.

Since then, the total has increased by almost £1,000 and now represents more than one third of the £31,000 needed to run the shelter this year.

Donations, charities and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister meet the rest.

Just £5 will pay for a rough sleeper to have soup, bread, hot drinks and biscuits.

The Maggs shelter is open seven nights a week for 10 weeks a year between January to March, when more than 100 people pass through its doors.

The shelter officially opened for the first time this winter on Monday.

Our appeal was sparked by the tragic case of Nicholas Lewtschuk, known by his friends as Jesus, who froze to death on the streets of Malvern in November.

Mr Lewtschuk's mother, Janice Urch, called the paper from her home in Salt Lake City in America after hearing about the appeal.

She said: "I am just glad his death was not in vain and that some good came out of it. It's what he would have wanted."

Maggs chairman John Gregory said: "As well as providing temporary relief, we also aim to find permanent accommodation for some of the people who use the night assessment centre this year.

"The money raised by the Worcester News will make a great difference to their lives."

One of the people who will be helped is David O'Neill, who had a promising start in life, before he turned to drink.

The 27-year-old former care assistant, who has nine GCSEs and has been homeless for about seven years, called the centre a "godsend".

"I feel safe here," he said. "On the streets I feel lonely, vulnerable, isolated and lost. When I come here I can get rid of that loneliness. I won't drink alcohol anywhere near the premises because I respect the staff too much."

Melanie Field, one of the three workers needed to supervise the shelter, said: "You do get quite attached to them. Sadly, last year we had to turn some people away when we were full to our maximum capacity of 15. That's one of the hardest parts of this job."

Her colleague, Sharon van Antwerpen, said that they had to stay awake while the clients slept and be ready to help with any medical problems.

"Some of them are quite poorly and need to be checked," she said. "It's exhausting, but worth it."

She said that they usually obey the rules, including handing over any alcohol, which is returned on departure.

"They all look out for one another," she added.

The service users have to reserve a place for the night.

The doors are locked at 11pm, although there are smoking sessions throughout the night if people want to have a cigarette.

The lights go on at 6am and the shelter closes at 7am to hand over to the day staff.