People homeless as shelter closes

The shelter in Mansfield has been open for the past three winters

Homeless people are being forced to sleep rough after the closure of a Nottinghamshire winter night shelter.

The emergency shelter at Nottingham Road Methodist Church, Mansfield, has shut leaving homeless people have to sleep on the streets or in woods.

Volunteers helped to run the refuge with the help of donations.

Tim Worrall, who used the shelter, said: "A lot of people will be in jail in the next few months through pinching food to survive."

Community lifeline

He added: "Keeping warm - that's the hardest bit about it."

Peter Gibson from homelessness charity Framework, which ran the night shelter, said it had been a lifeline for a wide variety of people in the community.

"We've had people in here fleeing domestic violence, we've had people coming straight from prison, we've had young boys who've fallen out with their parents and they've got nowhere to live."

He was unhappy about having to turn people onto the streets because of the shelter's closure.

"It's not what I'm in the job for. Obviously I'm here to re-house people and assist people in crisis."

Ajman Ali, director of housing at Mansfield District Council, said a permanent shelter was a possibility.

"We've been reviewing our homelessness strategy and some of the early indications are that a service like this would be desirable in Mansfield."