A church has opened its doors to provide temporary shelter for rough sleepers over Christmas and the New Year.

The Immanuel Community Church, in Islingword Road, Brighton, opened its doors on December 9, and is due to close on Saturday, the Twelfth Day of Christmas.

The shelter has been opening earlier than usual to give homeless people somewhere to shelter as temperatures plunged below zero.

Beryl Simpson, who organises the shelter, said: "I opened at four o'clock today instead of seven because I knew these boys would need someone.

"If this place was not here, these lads would be out on the streets."

Some of the people who use the shelter make their way there as it begins to get dark.

Others are found sleeping rough by groups such as Project Antifreeze, which tours the streets in winter to help rough sleepers.

Others are sent to the shelter by social services.

All the groups agree too little is being done to help such people get through the coldest weeks of winter, or to help them return to more settled lives.

Mrs Simpson said: "This year there is nothing and we had a call this morning from social services saying please could we take somebody in because in this weather there were going to be deaths.

"What we can do is just the tip of the iceberg. January is supposed to be really cold, so what is going to happen I dread to think."

The shelter opened for the first time last year, run by volunteers from Christian groups in the city under the umbrella of Off the Fence, a charity set-up to help the homeless.

People using the shelter are fed, can escape from the cold, and are helped as much as possible.

They can have a haircut from a visiting barber or see a doctor.

There are about 43 people sleeping out in Brighton and Hove, according to a head count conducted by the Government's Rough Sleepers Unit in November.

All the people using the church's shelter believe the actual figure is much higher.

Mick, 32, usually sleeps outside Brighton and Hove Council's offices. He said: "You can't put a number on it because there are people sleeping on the beach and under the pier."

Chris, 28, who has been living rough for 12 years, said he would usually sleep in a car park, which gives him some shelter, before being woken up and told to leave in the morning.

He said: "As soon as it starts getting dark, if I have got a bit of money in my pocket, I go to a cafe to keep warm.

"If I have not got any money I curl up in my sleeping bag on the street."