A sleepout in SOBO Beach, Southbourne, saw residents brave stormy weather to help £5,000 for youth homelessness. 

A group of 15 sleepers helped raise the cash for youth homeless charity, Centrepoint, after sleeping in SOBO Beach, Southbourne promenade, on March 1. 

The group faced all kinds of weather from hail, gales and heavy rain in temperatures near zero degrees. 

Event organiser, Mark Kedgley, said: "The weather didn't do us a lot of favours but we all had a lot of fun. There was a good team spirit and we get through it. 

"One of the people there had one of those sleep tracker watches and it showed she got about three and a half hours sleep but at least we only had to do it for one night and it was through choice. We all had new, posh sleeping bags and the point was to raise awareness for those who don't."

Following the first Southbourne Centrepoint sleepover, Mark says he is keen to continue the event as an annual thing. 

Raising £5,000 from over 200 individual donors, he believes the event was a brilliant starting block to help tackle homelessness in the BCP area. 

He said: "It struck home and was a shock to the system. We need organisations like Centrepoint to provide help for people when they find themselves in that situation. 

"If we did have more people, then it would be a bigger network and there would be a chance to make a bigger impact. Maybe there's a halfway house of doing the event at the end of summer."

Centrepoint is the UK's leading youth homelessness charity and helps more than 16,000 young people every year. 

Mark says the charity has spoken to him since the event to thank him. 

He said: "They're over the moon about we've done and our charity contact, Catherine Moses, gas been really excited by what we've been able to do.

"The event hit home and resonated with a few with messages saying 'that wasn't very nice but thank god I've only got to it for one night'."