TWO 'pods' for the homeless to sleep in are coming to Bradford.

The pods offer emergency accommodation for those who might find themselves with no where to live and are due to arrive in Bradford this week.

The Amazing Grace pods are manufactured in Wales and are being made available through the charity Humankind which is working with Hope Housing, Inn Churches and the Homeless Outreach Programme.

The pods will have a bed, chemical toilet, light, key-coded door and be powered by solar panels.

They are made from timber and fibreglass, and are equipped with a phone charger. Guests will be given an access code to get them into the shelter.

Clare Singlewood, area manager for Humankind said: "Like many other providers we find ourselves unable to offer our usual cold weather provision this winter due to the ongoing pandemic so we are really excited to have the opportunity to house and manage these emergency pods.

"We feel the pods will be ideally located in the grounds of Discovery House, in Barkerend Road, where the guests will have the benefit of the added security and the support to find alternative accommodation."

Juli Thompson chief executive and project manager for Inn Churches added: "We are under no illusion that this is only a short term solution to homelessness. But to someone who finds themselves suddenly on the streets it could help avert their crisis. This year at Inn Churches, due to Covid-19 we have been advised not to operate our winter shelters. After 11 winters of running the shelters we felt that purchasing the pods allowed us to still support people who found themselves at the mercy of the winter weather."

The Covid-safe pods will be situated in at Discovery House. HumanKind will manage them to keep them safe and maintained and Hope Housing, Inn Churches Humankind and the Homeless Outreach Programme will support the guests longer term.

Support for the pods has come from a former guest Liam Knights.

Liam spent five years homeless, and then worked as a builder He secured a place at Leeds university, completing a foundation year, an undergraduate degree in criminal justice and criminology, and this year a master's in security, conflict and justice. The last year has been extremely hard for everyone and like many others Liam has battled through depression to both survive the year, and to complete his Master's degree. After a successful crowd funder was launched to help him with the final tuition needed before he could accept his certificate fees the university actually waived the fees, so the funds appeal for will now go to Inn Churches to support funding of the pods.