IT'S supposed to be the season of goodwill to all men - but there was precious little Christmas cheer for a homeless man who froze to death on the streets of Worcestershire.

And as a bitter twist in a time of year when we traditionally celebrate the birth of Christ, the man killed by the cold called himself Jesus.

Nicholas Lewtschuk died last Thursday, on one of the coldest nights of the year. He struggled to keep warm as temperatures dropped to minus 5, but although he made it through the night, was found collapsed outside a house in Newtown Road, Malvern, at 7.30am.

Now staff at a Worcester homeless shelter are worried for the safety of other rough sleepers as money runs out and the predicted harsh winter looms.

Mr Lewtschuk was rushed to Worcestershire Royal Hospital, where he died.

Now Maggs Day Centre in Deansway, Worcester, faces halving its provision of overnight accommodation on the coldest nights of the year because of lack of cash.

CENTRE STRUGGLES TO STAY OPEN

IT's predicted to be the coldest winter for years - but a homeless charity is so short of funds it will only be able to provide half its usual night-time shelter.

Maggs Day Centre in Deansway usually opens up a night assessment centre providing hot soup and a bed for 15 rough sleepers over the 10 coldest weeks of the year, from January to March.

But staff have only managed to raise half the £31,500 needed to run it - which means it will only be able to open for five weeks.

They now fear this could mean more of the city's rough sleepers will face the same fate as Nicholas Lewtschuk. The 31-year-old - who called himself Jesus - died in hospital last Friday after being found on the street suffering from hypothermia.

An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned this week.

Sue Leach, acting manager at Maggs Day Centre, said she was saddened by Jesus' death and especially worried for other rough sleepers as the freezing temperatures had hit a lot earlier this year.

"I don't usually worry too much about at this time of year but I looked outside last weekend and really thought 'I hope they're OK'," she said.

"Ideally, we would love to be able to open overnight from now, but it is just not feasible due to funding and staffing.

"The centre costs about £3,000 a week to run and at the moment we only have about £15,000, which means we will only be open for five weeks as it is."

Sue added she remembered Jesus as "quite a character" who used to drop into the day centre on and off.

"If he had come to us last week we would have tried to find him some hostel accommodation," she added.

"If not, we recommend that rough sleepers try to find some sort of shelter where they can be seen - for example, in the sight of CCTV so they know they will be relatively safe."

The homeless can make their way to St Paul's Hostel in Tallow Hill where there are 40 male beds and six female beds - but it is often full. The only other alternative is the streets.

l If you wish to help Maggs Day Centre open for longer this winter, or you are able to volunteer to serve soup at the night assessment centre from January 9, 2006, please call 01905 25027.