EIGHT people slept under the stars at Kendal Castle last weekend to highlight the problems faced by the homeless and vulnerable in South Lakeland.

Organised by re-housing charity Manna House, the group braved freezing temperatures, with no more than a piece of cardboard for warmth, to sleep out last Saturday.

The group included a former user who wanted to to ‘give something back’, workers from the house and members of the public.

Penny Severn, outreach and development worker, at Manna House, said: “I didn’t sleep a wink, it was freezing but there were definitely some people snoring.

“I think the night helped us all to understand how you can get stuck in the cycle. It makes me burn with anger that some people have to do this every night in the 21st century. It is inhumane.

“We wanted to replicate how it feels to be truly homeless for a night by mimicking as close to possible the real life situations homeless people find themselves in.”

The event was planned for two weeks ago to coincide with Poverty and Homeless Action Week but due to the snowy weather it was postponed until last weekend.