West Country homeless charity facing huge demand as cold snap hits

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Charities have said they are facing unprecedented demand for support as they ramp up efforts to help homeless and vulnerable people experiencing the cold weather.

Cheltenham Open Door is offering hot food, showers and laundry facilities for those struggling this winter.Tony, a homeless man who often heads there during the day, knows all about life on the streets and has often been mistreated while sleeping rough.

He said: "I got kicked in the mouth which is when I was homeless. I’ve been punched, kicked, I’ve had hot water thrown at me.

"I've had cigarettes thrown into my drinking chocolate. Abuse of homeless people is unbelievable and the worst thing is it happens every day."

Tony comes to Cheltenham Open Door for a warm meal and a shower.

The charity, based on the Alstone Lane Trading Estate in Cheltenham, provides Tony with hot food and clothes to keep him warm during the cold snap.It also provides food parcels, sleeping bags and help keeping warm, and has had to move into a bigger premises to cater for soaring demand.

Rosie Radford, manager at the charity, explained that they try to provide as many facilities as they can.She said: "We have shower rooms so our guests can come and have a shower. We have laundry facilities so if our guests need to wash their clothes they can do that with us here, especially with homeless guests. There may be nowhere else they can do that."But not everyone who uses the charity is homeless. Another person who uses the site is a former builder who cannot work because of a serious injury.

For him, Tony and others, Cheltenham Open Door is a sanctuary, especially when the temperature outside is dropping.Jane Sharp, chair of trustees, said: "Until they [local authorities] call the severe weather protocol, it’s touch and go for a lot of our street guests.

"We will provide them with tents where we can. We will provide them with blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, thermos flasks.

"That’s another reason we have people like the doctors coming in and the chiropodists so that they can check people as soon as they come through for any ailments or injuries they’ve got going into this cold spell."