Two Wiltshire homelessness charities have been given £1,000 each by a housebuilder to help continue their work supporting people and communities in need.

Swindon Night Shelter and the Doorway centre in Chippenham received funding from David Wilson Homes which is building hundreds of new homes in Wichelstowe and Swindon and Birds Marsh View.

Swindon Night Shelter in The Haven provides a refuge, hot meals, and clothes five days a week for those with no home or who were recently re-homed.

The ethos of the charity is to get to know the homeless individual and their story so one of the 150 volunteers at the charity can help them to find a permanent place to stay and establish a more stable lifestyle.

Aside from the shelter, the charity runs a winter housing scheme from January to March where rough sleepers are provided with a bed for the night. The charity is aiming to expand its role by increasing the number of beds it can provide.

A donation point has also been set up at David Wilson Homes' Canalside at Wichelstowe sales centre, collecting food and clothing donations from visitors and residents which will be passed on to the charity.

Manager Ian McCarthy said: "Working here and talking to people who drop-in looking for help you quickly realise how rapidly someone's circumstances can change and they find themselves homeless. As we emerge from the pandemic, many people's lives are in turmoil and our services are more vital than ever before.

"Not only are we are seeing a 60 per cent increase in drop-ins but, post-lockdown, we are continuing to distribute food parcels to around 600 people per month. The grant from David Wilson Homes has come at key time and will help us continue to feed and support these vulnerable communities."

Louise Ware from David Wilson Homes South West said: "These charities provide a vital life-line to some of the people in greatest need in Wiltshire. We believe passionately in supporting people and communities where we are building much-needed new homes so we're pleased to be able to help make a contribution towards continuing this important work. With donation points at Wichelstowe and Birds Marsh View we hope to raise awareness of the incredible support these charities offer as well as collecting food and clothing to help homeless and vulnerable people in Wiltshire."