A CHARITY event to highlight the plight of homeless people has raised thousands of pounds after 70 volunteers slept on the streets for a night.

The Real High Street Sleep Out raises vital money for homeless charity Coatham House which has helped look after vulnerable people in and around Redcar for more than two decades.

Organiser Natalie King decided to raise money for the charity after it helped support her when she was a teenager.

Now, almost 20 years later she runs her own successful business, Brides and Dreams, but she has never forgotten how she was helped in her time of need.

"Coatham House and homelessness is something that is very close to my heart," said the 35-year-old. "When I was a teenager, I experienced being homeless and the charity was there to support and help me.

"As well as raising money, I want to raise awareness about homelessness because there is the misconception that all people forced to live on the streets have drug or alcohol dependency issues but is simply not true. There are so many reasons that could result in someone ending up homeless and that is why this charity is so important to me.

"We set ourselves the target of raising £10,000, so far we have raised £4,600 on the Just Giving sponsorship page and we have another £4,000 in sponsorship that still needs to be collected in the old fashioned way, so we will hopefully reach our target."

The volunteers who spent the night on Redcar High Street included Redcar and Cleveland Borough councillor Barry Hunt.

The Brotton ward councillor, who has taken part in the last four events, said: "After doing it for the first time I realised how important this charity is and the work that it does for the young people in the area who find themselves homeless. When you see what the people from the charity do on a daily basis, you can't help but want to help them and raise as much money as you can."

The charity, which costs £6,500 a week to operate, provides safe accommodation for young people in housing need aged 16 to 25 in the area. For more information about Coatham House call 01642-486844.