Over the Christmas break the Midsomer Norton Community Trust helped to build Sleep Pods at the Town Hall. The Trust got involved after seeing posts from local Sleep Pod volunteer builder, Jon Durrant, who has been building the Pods at home.

Sleep Pods are emergency shelters for rough sleepers in severe weather conditions. They are designed to help keep people warm, dry and offer a degree of comfort.

We all know that being wet and cold is uncomfortable, even for short periods of time. Most of us are lucky enough to be able to come into the warm to change and dry our clothes. But rough sleepers often do not have access to drying facilities or warm food and drinks. They can stay wet and cold for days. In extreme weather, being cold and wet can lead to hypothermia, which can be fatal.

The Sleep Pod is been designed to be made of relatively cheap but highly insulated materials. The design is similar to a one-person tent with one fixed end and a Velcro opening end to allow access. They are designed to be quick and easy to use.

The main component is the fire retardant bubble foil insulation, as well as gaffer tape for watertight joints, foil tape for insulation and air tightness and bamboo canes for support.

It is lightweight and can be rolled up like a sleeping mat, so that it can be carried around. They are so well insulated that they use body heat to heat the pod so you can sleep in just a t-shirt! Each pod costs around £30 to build in materials.

The building, organisation and distribution of Sleep Pods is done by teams of local volunteers. The majority of money used to buy materials is donated by the general public, so the key right now is donations, so that more Pods can be funded to help those in need.

The Pods have been distributed by volunteer charities to those in need throughout the South West. Times are tough right now for many, but if you can afford to donate money to the local

effort you can do so online. The link can be found at: www.midsomernortoncommunitytust.co.uk/sleeppods

For more information on their ongoing work you can follow the Sleep Pod pages on social media or head to: www.sleeppod.org.uk.