THREE hardy fundraisers slept suspended from Bradford’s iconic Alhambra Theatre in a bid to raise £20,000 for youth homelessness charity Centrepoint.

Travel writer and author Phoebe Smith, rigging specialist Ollie Laker and rope specialist and A&E doctor John Pike have joined forces to take on the challenge.

Their charity mission, which has included Strathy Head and Bunnet Stane, Scotland, plus the Stadium of Light, Sunderland, and Gaping Gill, North Yorkshire, along with the Alhambra, involves the trio sleeping sky high on small platforms called portaledges, rigged and suspended from the different sites.

They have set themselves the ambitious goal of raising £20,000 from their Extreme Sleep Out challenge, every penny of which will go to Centrepoint.

The charity supports more than 10,000 homeless 16 to 25 -year-olds across the UK every year, directly and through its partner organisations.

It provides specialist health support and help to access education and training, so that young people can go on to live independently and leave homelessness behind. The Alhambra, where they stayed on Sunday, marked the fifth night of their challenge. Each venue is only being revealed on the day they arrive. Phoebe said: “It was wonderful. It was great to see the city lit up.”

She said some homeless people had also offered words of support and added: “That was so amazing. That made it so worthwhile.” She said: “We’ve deliberately chosen to take on this challenge and sleep in some very strange places but the reason for doing this is to help those who don’t have a choice about where they spend the night.

“I’ve had periods of my life where things have been unstable and I’ve had to rely on the kindness of friends putting me up because I didn’t have anywhere to stay. Sometimes that little bit of help can make all the difference, which is why we’ve chosen to support Centrepoint.

“It will be a real physical challenge getting to some of the places we need to get to. But even if doing this stops one more person having to sleep somewhere cold, wet and miserable, then it will be completely worth it.”

To donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/extremesleepout