THE BIG Sleep-out, an event to raise money for local homelessness charities, begins on Thursday night.

On the April 4, local residents and fundraisers will be sleeping outside at Worcester Warriors Rugby Club to raise money for three local charities; St Paul's Hostel, Warriors Community Foundation and Maggs Day Centre.

Around 100 people are expected to take part and sleep out on the night, raising a minimum of £65,000 and the event runs from 7pm onwards.

The event will feature a BBQ and a bar donated by C event catering, a friendly touch rugby game between Warriors Homeless Rugby Team and a team assembled by Nick Baxter.

At 11pm the stadium will go into lockdown and the sleepers will not be allowed out until 6am on Friday morning.

Notable figures taking part in the sleepout include Labour Parliamentary Candidate and city councillor Lynn Denham, Mel Kirk, chief executive of Maggs Day Centre, Jonathan Sutton, CEO of St Paul's Hostel and Richard Chapman, headteacher of King's St Albans.

Over 120 people have signed up as of Wednesday, with over £23,000 being raised so far.

The Big Sleep Out was launched in January this year and is the second the club has hosted.

At the time, Warriors player Chris Pennell, who is a trustee of the Warriors Community Foundation, said: “As players we should be aligned and involved as much as possible with our Community Foundation and its initiatives.

“It’s great to see the likes of Justin Clegg as a young man recognising the importance of that and driving the player involvement.

“We are delighted to lend our support to the Worcester Big Sleep-Out by raising awareness and helping to get as many people involved as possible. As well as raising awareness we would also like to raise a decent amount of money for the three charities.

“Homelessness is probably only something we start to think about when it’s cold, wet and damp. But it’s not a seasonal issue it’s a year-round one.”