MORE than 150 people will be spending the night in cardboard boxes this weekend to help raise awareness of homelessness.

The event has been planned to coincide with National Homelessness Day on Sunday.

The sleep out has been organised by Kent-based housing association mhs homes in the grounds of their head office at Broadside, Chatham Maritime.

Funds raised by the event will be divided between homelessness charity Emmaus Medway and the Macmillan Cancer Care Unit at Medway Maritime Hospital.

Terry Waite, is president of Emmaus, which is a national homelessness charity and will be in Chatham to support the sleep out.

The experiences of the former church envoy as a hostage gave him a great deal of sympathy for homeless people.

He said: "I realised that day in and day out, many homeless people have to endure isolation, fear, boredom and despair.

"It is a very quick road down from the top and very difficult indeed to begin to climb up again."

Mr Waite will launch the sleep out at 9pm on Saturday and The Mayor of Medway, Val Goulden, will be visiting the sleepers to judge the best box competition.