'I spent the night sleeping rough in the snow and this is what I realised'

An award-winning pub Tameside landlady joined dozens of others in braving freezing temperatures and sleeping rough in the snow for to raise money for the homeless.

Pauline Town, 55, who has been publican at The Station Hotel in Ashton-under-Lyne for 18 years, is also a renowned charity worker who was awarded an MBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours in recognition of her work for homeless people in the borough.

Her pub has doubled up as a up as the town’s hub for the community group We Shall Overcome and for eight years now she has given out around 100 packed lunches a day, supporting the homeless, victims of domestic abuse, and those facing poverty.

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Each year the group organises a sponsored rough sleep to raise thousands of pounds it puts towards its work. YOU FIND OUT MORE AND DONATE HERE. However last night, at the tenth such event, for the first time, they did so in the snow.

Around 30 people took part and braved the freezing temperatures, 15 of whom joined Pauline in the car park of The Station. They include key workers and people who had been homeless who were helped by the group and who have now become volunteers.

"It was hard," she said. "It is the first time we've done it in snow. We've had rain before, we've had wind. But we've never had snow. So it was tough going.

"We've said all along, as we have every year, that you can only use what you would realistically be able to use if you were really rough sleeping. And we're not making light of people who have to do this for real by saying that.

"It's about raising awareness of what it's actually like for people who have to live in that way as well. People are