CHURCHGOERS of all ages camped inside and outside a Soundwell church in freezing conditions to raise awareness of the plight of the homeless.

The event, called Cardboard City, took place at St Stephen's Church on Friday night as temperatures hit lows of around -5C.

It was a free and unsponsored event meant to raise a little awareness of what it is like to be homeless in Bristol.

Previous years have seen about 50 people bed down outside the church between 8pm and 8am lashed by wind and rain.

It was the idea of one of the church's members, Shirley Bennett, who is a volunteer at charity Emmaus Bristol, which provides homes, jobs and support for former homeless people, and the Bristol City Centre Soup Run, which brings food, drink and blankets to people who sleep on the streets.

Volunteers from the soup run called by around 10pm to hand out soup and snacks, just as they do around the centre of Bristol week after week.

The Rev Canon Ian Wills, vicar of St Stephen's, said: "It is said that any of us could be only three pay cheques away from homelessness ourselves.

"Our church is partnered with Emmaus Bristol and the City Centre Soup Run, so we are passionate about the plight of homeless people in our city.

"We run Cardboard City, regardless of the weather, to stand alongside our mission partners in their concern for the homeless in Bristol. We do it to raise awareness among our church members of the plight of homeless people in our own city.

"We do it to seek for ourselves a bit more understanding of what it is like to have to sleep rough. We know it's not the real thing, but it is hard enough to do just one night, and it gives us a glimpse of how hard it would be to sleep rough every night."

A large number of young families participated in Friday night's event with Alan Goddard, from Christian charity Crisis Centre Ministries, attending to talk to children about what it feels like to be homeless.