UNIVERSITY of Salford student Luke Davey is fighting the chills of winter by calling for donations towards hot water bottles that could be the difference between ‘life or death’ for the homeless in Manchester.

30-year-old Luke Davey and manager of the newly founded Hot Water Bottle Network Manchester is also appealing for local businesses to come forward and sign up as ‘refill stations’ across Manchester so the homeless have an unlimited supply of hot water to keep warm during cold bitter nights.

“A hot water bottle could make the difference between life and death on a harsh night.”

So far, Luke has had Peer hut which is situated in the Northern Quarter to agree to be a refill station and offering £1 off your pint when you donate, but he desperately needs more local businesses to come forward.

Asking what inspired Luke he said: “It was compassion I suppose, wanting to help people on the streets, there are homeless people everywhere, especially Manchester, it’s really cold and I’d like them to be warmer and not die on the streets.”

With temperatures dropping as low as freezing, Luke Davey said “It’s been so cold recently it’s been minus four, so I do think literally that you could save someone’s life. Which could sound a bit overblown, but I think it’s true that every bit of warmth is really helpful.

“Also for people’s well-being as well, just to know they’re feeling a bit more looked after. The biggest things you hear from a homeless person is that yeah we get given food and drink, and money and that’s all really helpful but they often miss real human contact like genuine contact, something about this is really personal I think”

Attached to each hot water bottle will be a laminated tag with a list of refill spots and each station will have stickers on their windows to also indicate that they are friendly for refills.

If you want to donate, then you can buy a bottle for as little as £2.65 including delivery on ebay and email for an address at hotwaterbottlemanchester@gmail.com.

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