TWO best friends who took on a rough sleeping challenge in freezing temperatures say more needs to be done to help the homeless.

Jack Harrop, 21, and Jack Oliphant, 22, said they felt like second-class citizens as people ignored them and even pretended they did not speak English to avoid speaking to them in Middlesbrough.

Mr Harrop said: "We took on the role and were on the streets begging but personally I found the experience very belittling and horrible.

"What I have learnt the most is that people can do more. You are sat there and it's like you don't exist. You don't have a part in people's lives; they're above you but I think to tackle homelessness we need to start paying more attention."

The landscape gardener added: "Even if we asked for directions we would get ignored and some people would pretend they didn't speak English."

The duo made £11 begging and said they lived off multi packs of sausage rolls for the duration of the challenge although they were offered food at a homeless cafe in Linthorpe Road.

Both said they never wanted to eat another sausage roll for a long time but tackling the cold was the worst part of the experience, especially last night.

Mr Harrop said: "It's been a real eye-opening experience. The first night it was cold and we built a fire which was fine but the second night was absolutely baltic."

Mr Oliphant, a demolition worker, said the pair got no sleep because of the cold and it had really made them appreciate what they both had to be grateful for.

"It was brutal," he said. "I don't know how they get through the cold - we kept waking up every time the wind blew."

He added: "It was really interesting to get everyone's different stories but is definitely an experience I won't forget."

The pair have raised £1,000 and will be buying essentials such as sleeping bags, hats and flasks as well as soup to help the homeless cafe give each person a hot meal to go away with.

Mr Harrop, who is a gypsy, set himself the challenge as he felt the travelling community get a bad name, and said he was overwhelmed by the generosity of donations, especially from his congregation at St Hilda's Church, in Darlington.

He documented the experience and will be making a Youtube video but apologised for one that shows him talking to a man who appeared to be vulnerable while he was waiting to be picked up after the challenge had finished.

Mr Harrop got the man to sing to the camera and down a bottle of beer before offering him a lift to Bishop Auckland.

However, when the men were picked up, they decided it would be unwise to take him to Bishop Auckland and instead offered to buy him a cup of coffee in Middlesbrough.

Mr Harrop said he had known the man - who he claimed was not homeless - for many years and that is was "just a bit of banter".

He said: "It was a bit of banter but I understand some people will have taken it the wrong way so I have taken it down."