Severe Weather Emergency Protocols are in place to help rough sleepers across Lincolnshire
This scheme is put in place to ensure that people sleeping rough are not at risk of harm or, in the worst case, of dying during periods of extreme cold or severe weather
Local areas across Lincolnshire have triggered a Severe Weather Emergency Protocol to help support rough sleepers as temperatures plummet amid this cold spell.
It comes as a local homeless charity - that works in the county and in Newark - says the scheme will remain in place for another 5 days to provide emergency housing for those on the streets
Jack Dowell is from Framework, and says things are really tough for those sleeping rough:
"The difference between minus 1 and 1 degree is minimal when you're walking around on the street, even sleeping in 1 degrees is difficult, so to tell them that the temperatures have warmed up but still be that cold is really hard. Across the East Midlands we just don't have the provisions at the minute in the cities to be able to offer support for everybody who needs it.
"It's the busiest time of our year because we want to make everyone as safe as possible, we have extra outreach teams in the evening, we'll have extra people on till about 7 o'clock at night answering the phones, making sure that everyone who rings is allocated a place. So super busy for us but also it's the most important time for us."
Jack added that it's a difficult situation to be in, that comes with risks:
"Things like cardboard boxes come in useful because it's that separation between the body and the ground so they have a little bit of that buffer, we get people who are rough sleeping because they've been kicked out of their family home with no possessions and they're not prepared to be rough sleeping so they might have nothing and just sleeping in the clothes they've got.
"If people are sleeping in sub-zero temperatures and have underlying health conditions it could be super risky, it can impact their health conditions so much that in the worst cases, they could freeze to death.
"So the councils do provide extra beds for people but sadly, across the board, unfortunately it's not enough for the high numbers of rough sleepers that we have at the minute."