BOLTON teenagers had a taste of living rough this week as part of a charity campaign to help the town's homeless.

Twenty-two people - students from Bolton Catholic Sixth Form Centre and two members of staff - braved the unseasonal weather on Tuesday night.

But the rain and cold conditions didn't deter the stalwarts who bedded down at the top of Bolton Town Hall steps, curled up in their sleeping bags.

The idea for the charity sleep-out came from college pupil Gemma Marshall of Little Stones Road, Egerton.

She said: "I recently went to a talk about homelessness and met a girl who was going to take part in another sleep-out.

"That's how I got the idea for ours which has helped raise people's awareness about the issue as well as raising money."

And Gemma's campaign turned into a family affair with her mum, Anne, uncle John Lomax and his partner Vicky Howarth joining the group.

Fathers John Dickson and Graham Forristalle from the college also provided moral support for the outdoor sleepers.

Vincent Holland, director of the Sixth Form Centre, praised the group's determination.

He added: "It went very well and has achieved its twin objectives of highlighting the problems and raising money.

"This was Gemma's idea and she should be congratulated on her efforts. I have already considered asking the students who took part to talk to others in an assembly next week about what it felt like to sleep rough."

Sponsorship still has to be collected so it's still not known exactly how much cash has been raised for the national charity Shelter which helps the country's homeless.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.