AN ALLOA woman braved the freezing cold recently to help raise thousands of pounds for the homeless.

Teresa McNally was part of a team from the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) who took part in the Social Bite Sleep in the Park on Saturday, December 9.

The mass sleepout, held in Edinburgh's Princes Street Gardens, saw more than 8,000 people roll out their sleeping bags as temperatures in the capital dipped to minus six.

Together with Diane Cooper, Sarah Boyack and Shona Mitchell, volunteer board director Teresa raised in excess of £4,000 for Social Bite's campaign to end homelessness – smashing their target of £3,000.

The global total was around £3.6million at the latest count and Teresa wanted to take the opportunity to thank those who supported her in her endeavour to force change.

She told the Advertiser that the thousands of people flocking to the gardens to sleep outside was a "sight to behold".

The former councillor added: "So many individuals, housing associations, housing cooperatives, commercial companies and others gave donations to the Social Bite, raising awareness of homeless people especially at this time of year.

"May I personally thank local people for their generous contributions and support with this endeavour. I chose to sleep out under the sky for one night, the homeless don't have that choice."

To aid to hose making the effort earlier this month, the Sleep in the Park event also featured performances from Liam Gallagher, Deacon Blue, Frightened Rabbit and Amy Macdonald, all busking stripped-back acoustic sets.

Comedian Rob Brydon hosted the event and actor John Cleese went along to read a bedtime story.

Donations can still be made to support Teresa and the rest of the SFHA team by visiting uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/sfha-