East Grinstead building materials supplier Southern Sheeting raises £800 for homeless charity Crawley Open House in Big Sleep Out

Southern Sheeting has more than tripled its original fundraising target of £250.

Employees slept outside in the yard at the East Grinstead business to raise money for the charity and to raise awareness about the challenges faced by homeless people.

A total of 10 employees, including managers, drivers, sales, administrative and yard staff, all tried to put their heads down with nothing but cardboard for a bed.

The team only had two hours of sleep as the temperature dropped to minus figures and they woke up to ice on their belongings.

Tony Hobbs, Southern Sheeting’s managing director, said: "As a business which supplies roofing materials, putting a roof over people’s heads is very close to our hearts, as is supporting a local charity which does amazing work.

"After spending the night sleeping outdoors, we all have a new understanding of how hard it is to get a good night’s sleep, which is vital to be able to cope with the challenges life throws at you.

"We’re very pleased to offer our support again to Crawley Open House. We’ve always been struck by their dedication and compassion as they help residents and day-centre guests to move forward on their path to recovery and independent living."

The main Big Sleep Out event took place in Crawley on Thursday, March 24, but Southern Sheeting held its own event to enable delivery drivers to get a good night’s rest before work, enabling them to deliver essential building materials to projects around the country to its trade and domestic customers.

This builds on Southern Sheeting’s recent fundraising efforts for Crawley Open House when the team raised £6,000 by taking on a gruelling 50km hike across an SAS training ground in the Brecon Beacons in Wales.

Crawley Open House has been providing support and services for those suffering the effects of homelessness, unemployment, loneliness, discrimination, or other forms of social exclusion for 40 years.

Every night, the hostel at Crawley Open House houses 24 people. The average length of stay in the hostel is six to seven weeks during which the staff works closely with the residents and partner agencies to address some of the issues that made the residents homeless such as financial and unemployment problems, trauma and other mental health issues, addiction, relationship crisis or even physical health problems.

The Big Sleep Out is an annual event to raise awareness about homelessness and to raise funds to support the charity’s work for those experiencing homelessness locally.

There’s still time to donate to Southern Sheeting’s fund for Crawley Open House by visiting www.justgiving.com/team/Southernsheetingsleepout.

For more information, please visit southernsheeting.co.uk.

READ THIS: Crawley Sea and Royal Marine Cadets prepare for 65th birthday celebrations with ‘Colour Parade’.

Here are 12 of the best restaurants in Mid Sussex for Easter al fresco dining, according to Google.

Rise in visits to A&E at the Sussex University Hospitals Trust.