FUNDRAISERS who swapped their warm beds for cold pavements have donated £16,000 to homeless charities and local foodbanks.

Almost 100 people took part in the Big Tees Sleepout at Middlesbrough College recently which raised £7,000 at a similar event back in March.

Andy Preston, founder of Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation, which arranged the mass sleepout, said: “We raised some money to do some great work, we raised awareness of homeless and other marginalised groups and we have gone some way to showing the wider population that you can make big things happen when good people get together.

“What was really important about this fundraiser was that we are now going to be able to help stock food banks and support a range of homelessness groups across Teesside in the approach to Christmas.”

Among those taking part was North-East lawyer Deb McGargle, who also took part in the UK’s first ever CEO Sleepout, which raised £30,000 in March.

This time she asked sponsors to back her by donating food instead of cash, succeeding in collating enough food for 3,000 meals.

As well as in Middlesbrough, the nationwide Trussell Trust also runs food banks in Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham, Billingham, Redcar and Hartlepool.

Nigel Perrott, project manager for Middlesbrough food bank, said: “A lot of people are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. So many families are in a position where it is really easy for them to fall into crisis.

“People are having to find extra money to pay for their spare room, their council tax, for the increase cost of heating and lighting their homes, so there is no room to save for when something goes wrong.”