REPORT BY IAN ROSS

YOUNG churchgoers slept rough in Alsager as part of a campaign to highlight the plight of street children.

The initiative involved 16 youngsters and four leaders from the Young People's Fellowship at Wesley Place Church.

The young people slept out over one night in the church doorway, creating their own cardboard city to keep out the cold.

They had several visitors during the night, including their minister, the Reverend Malcolm Weatherby.

The 'sleep out' raised £20 in donations from passers-by, and £200 from members of the congregation.

The YPF is asking churchgoers to send postcards to the Foreign Secretary and President of the World Bank to support the Streets Apart campaign.

It is also hoping to raise £750 for the campaign, which supports a variety of initiatives, including providing shelter and medical help.

"The sleep out started at 8pm, and by 2am freezing fog had come down," said a YPF member.

"It wasn't long after this that most people retired to their cardboard shelters.

"Three of us had to sleep on the pavement, and we managed to rig up a plastic sheet to keep off most of the wet.

"No-one managed to sleep through the whole night, and it made us think what it must be like for those poor street children."