It is seven degrees centigrade and the homeless of Brighton are bedding down for the night.

A chill wind blows down Western Road as three volunteers from Off the Fence clutch flasks of soup, toiletries, warm clothing and sleeping bags to hand out to those in need.

Off the Fence was set up in the early Nineties by Paul Young in a bid to take the Christian message to the wider community.

One of its major schemes is Project Anti-Freeze which, since 1994, has been regularly sending out people onto the streets and provides for the immediate needs of those with nowhere to live.

Its 40 volunteers go out four times a week distributing donated and new clothes to the needy.

Setting off on Monday evening, team leader Brian Cooper, a 29-year-old engineer from Portslade, explained that none of the volunteers ever take money out on to the streets "These people are desperate but money is not the solution to their problems. They are much more complex and drugs are everywhere.

"We are not here to preach to people. We build up a relationship and they get to know us and we talk to them."

Brian, who has been working on the project for three years, continued: "The reason I am here is because it gives me the chance to do something as a Christian helping others."

Our first stop-off was in Western Road, where a crouched figure sat by a cash-point machine wrapped in a filthy blanket. Sipping the cup of soup which was handed to him, Chris explained how he had ended up on the streets.

"I'm from York originally and used to live with my father. But my mum died when I was nine and when he remarried, my stepmum forced me out.

"I was on the streets of York first but I came down here to sort myself out. But it hasn't worked like that.

"I sleep behind an un-employment centre on my own. I like being on my own because I have a chance to think and get things sorted.

"A lot of people think you are homeless because you are lazy and you can't get a job. There probably are a few people like that but there are genuine people as well.

"I am a working lad and have always worked since I left school but once you get on the streets, it's hard to get on the housing ladder and I'm not even claiming dole."

Chris said that because he had a kidney removed when he was five, he has never taken drugs and has no wish to.

In Bartholomew Square, the team delivers what may be the first hot meals of the day to five people huddled together in a corner.

Among them is April, a 30-year-old mother-of-three who has been officially homeless since she ran away from a children's home, aged 13.

She said: "I came to Brighton for a new start from London. I can't go back because it is getting too violent there.

"I can't get anywhere to live because I was put in a women's hostel in London which helps mainly drug addicts and prostitutes.

"Because I walked out, the council said I made myself intentionally homeless. I've now got to the point where I have realised I won't get off the streets and I have to get on with it."

Dressed in a thick hat, anorak and blue jeans, she added: "There is no bed space for women in Brighton or Hove. Since I'm separated from my husband and on my own, I have to surround myself with good friends whom I can trust.

"I met these friends at First Base a drop-in centre for the homeless and if it wasn't for them I could be really at risk.

"Because I am a woman, I'm more likely to get abuse from men, I get people telling me to **** off back to where I belong and that's not from drunks but from street cleaners.

"I sleep near the Thistle Hotel where people pay £185 a night for a room and we are out here on the concrete."

Another figure we met was Jeremy, 40, who admitted to a £60-a-day heroin and crack cocaine habit.

Sitting with his sister in Brighton Square, and sipping the soup which was given to him, he said: "I have been homeless for three-and-a-half years.

"I once had a big house in Marlow where I lived with my wife but we got a divorce and I moved in with my sister.

"We got in trouble with our neighbours who turned out to be Yardies and had to leave town. So we put a pin in the map and came to Brighton. I went to a job agency to get some portering work but they didn't want to know because I've got a record."

Brian explained that it had been a relatively quiet night. In three hours, soup, sandwiches, chocolate, clothes and one sleeping bag had been given out.

"We are not naive enough to think we are changing someone's life by giving them a sandwich or sleeping bag, it's about talking to people and listening when nobody else will."

For further information about Project Anti-Freeze, call Christina Summers on 07887 614123.