The council leader will swap talking tough for sleeping rough in a bid to raise money and awareness for the plight of the homeless.

Holy Trinity Church in Wimbledon will turn into a sea of cardboard and wooly hats on Saturday, January 28, as it becomes a home for fundraisers who will sleep outside between 7pm and 6am on Sunday morning.

Merton Council leader Stephen Alambritis will be among those sleeping rough at the The Sleep Easy event, organised by YMCA South and West London.

Councillor Alambritis said: “Obviously it would be great if there were no homeless people at all in the borough, but while there are it is important to raise money for the charities that are there to provide help.

“I will be using my son’s sleeping bag, but even comforts like that are more than some rough sleepers will have.”

Sleep Easy is a national YMCA fundraising event, with their Wimbledon-based south-west London branch housing more than 400 people each year.

For more information visit: ymcalsw.org/sleepeasy.

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