Fundraisers lay on festive feast for Scotland's homeless

25 December 2017, 10:59 | Updated: 25 December 2017, 11:01

More than £4 million has been raised in a festive fundraiser to tackle homelessness in Scotland.

Social Bite cafes across the country opened up on Christmas Day to serve dinner and give out presents to people affected by the issue.

Its festive fundraising campaign, working with Itison, as well as the Sleep In The Park gig in Edinburgh helped raise more than £4m.

A Social Bite spokesman said: "Thank you so much to every single person that slept out or donated a Christmas dinner and raised so much money for Scotland's homeless people.

"You have simultaneously registered your disgust at the system that results in people becoming homeless in such large numbers, as well as your love and affection for people with no place to call a home of their own.

"The job over the next 12 months is to use this money to get a minimum of 500 people off the streets and temporary shelters into a proper home with a funded support resource, and in doing so help to restructure our response to homelessness for the long term.

"We look forward to working with lots of homelessness charities, housing associations and the Scottish Government to this end."

Sleep in the Park saw more than 8,000 people spend the night in the city's Princes Street Gardens as part of ''the world's biggest sleepout'.

Stars signed up to perform at the Sleep In The Park event included Liam Gallagher, Deacon Blue, Amy Macdonald and Frightened Rabbit.

John Cleese performed a bedtime story while Bob Geldof slept out and addressed the audience.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney, Communities Secretary Angela Constance and Housing Minister Kevin Stewart also spent the night in the gardens.

The organisation has premises in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.