This year’s Sleep Out has, as of this morning, also raised over £30,000 to help the Trust provide accommodation and support to men with a range of issues, including homelessness and addiction.

The turnout is even more notable given that, earlier in the month, there were concerns that the recent Storm Ciarán may have affected sign-ups.

Tim Ringsdore, chair of the Sanctuary Trust, had said he hoped there would be a last minute “surge” in participants.

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Pictured: Participants swapped their beds for a cold, concrete floor in Pier Road car park for a night.

Fundraiser Abi Nance said she was “delighted” that, despite the concerns, the event instead saw record attendance numbers – revealing that around £32,000 had been raised as of this morning.

She added that the youngest participant was eight, while the oldest was 74.

“You never know with these things how many people are going to turn up on the night – it’s wonderful that so many people came to support the charity and the work that we do.

“We will be keeping the donations page open until the end of the month – it is continuing to go up which is delightful and obviously really important in terms of funding for the charity.”

DONATE…

You can donate to this year’s Sleep Out online HERE.