BRAVE Welwyn Hatfield residents spent a night out in the cold, in a bid to raise money and awareness of homelessness.

A total of three Sleep Easy events were held in Hertfordshire this weekend, with two taking place in Welwyn Hatfield.

Almost 50 people braved below zero temperatures to camp out under cardboard at both the Galleria in Hatfield and The Howard Centre in WGC on Saturday night, in support of Central Herts YMCA.

Sponsored volunteers were given cardboard boxes to construct their own shelter and gain an insight into the difficulties faced by hundreds of homeless people every night.

Fundraising manager Michelle Gray said: “We had some great, positive feedback, with people telling us they had a new found respect for the people that have to live out in the cold.

“They all realised they had the chance to prepare for the night ahead – but a homeless person doesn’t.”

Last year’s event at the Galleria raised �15,000 towards the charity’s work towards tackling homelessness, and Ms Gray said she hoped this year’s event would top that amount.

“We’re hoping to get over �15,000 and beat last year’s total,” she said.

“We’re delighted so many people got behind us, and we’d like to say a big thank you to the Galleria and The Howard Centre for letting us put up our cardboard cities.”