More than £2,500 in sponsorship money has already flooded in after a charity sleepout in Charter Place, Watford, on Friday night.

Sixty-eight people took part in the sleepout which was organised jointly by the Watford YMCA and Watford New Hope Trust. The money raised will help finance the charities’ work with homeless and vulnerable people in the town.

Juliette Ratcliff, one of those who took part, said: ‘I have always wanted to sleep out to see what it is really like to be a homeless person.

"After only ten minutes sleep the whole night, I felt so sleep-deprived and can easily see why the only way to shut off from the bright lights, the freezing wind and the noise of the streets might be to have some alcohol.

" I hope we helped raise awareness for the precious people on our streets who are going through hard times."

Rebecca Palmer, community fundraising manager at Watford New Hope Trust, said: "This was the first sleepout that WNHT and the YMCA had organised together for many years, and it was a great success. We’re looking to run the event again next year.

"Everyone managed to stay outside for the whole night in spite of the cold and the wind and the noise, and all the participants commented on how difficult it must be to sleep on the streets night after night. It opened their eyes in a new way to the reality of homelessness."