A CITY homeless shelter that has saved more than 100 people from a freezing night on the streets has been extended for another three days.

Maggs Day Centre, Deansway, Worcester, has thanked Worcester News readers for being able to do this.

We launched our Give Them Shelter Appeal in December after the tragic case of Nicholas Lewtschuk, known as Jesus, who froze to death in Malvern.

Generous readers raised almost £11,000 in just two weeks for the appeal - more than one third of the £31,500 needed to run the shelter. Other donations, charities and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister met the rest.

The extra money helped to open the shelter a week earlier than planned and paid for this small extension at the end of the scheme.

The three days this week have already been fully booked by people looking to benefit from a roof over their head, soup, bread, hot drinks and biscuits.

Mair Edmunds, manager of Maggs, said the night shelter - which has room for 15 people a night and has seen 16 to 73-year-olds using it - had also helped a lot of people into more permanent accommodation.

She said: "We have been able to move a lot of people on to more permanent accommodation, which is one of the main reasons behind the night shelter. Thanks to the Worcester News campaign we have been able to extend this until Wednesday night. This is important as it is still very cold at night.

"From Thursday we will work with Worcester Rough Sleepers Project and other multi-agency organisations to keep the support going and initiate care plans."

She said many of the people who used the shelter had benefited from more than one night's shelter, with one man staying 42 nights. "It has been an essential service - especially as this has been an especially cold winter. We'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped."