RESIDENTS are being encouraged to report rough sleepers to their council to save from the freezing cold weather.

A Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) has been triggered following reports by the Met Office of the temperature falling to zero or below until Wednesday.

The weather forecast shows that barometers will show around minus three degrees overnight into Wednesday morning in Bournemouth before rising to 5C during the daytime.

It means that councils have a humanitarian obligation to do all they can to prevent deaths on the streets caused by winter weather. This includes the cold, but also conditions such as high wind and heavy rain.

People who spot someone sleeping rough are asked to call Bournemouth Council. The information will then be passed on to the council's team who will go and look for the person to provide them with emergency accommodation. Councils across Dorset and Hampshire will also be following the same protocol.

The charity, Faithworks Wessex, which helps people facing isolation and poverty, runs the Bournemouth Christians Alongside Rough Sleepers (BCARs), which aims to eliminate the issue by helping people to take the next steps towards rebuilding their lives.

Alistair Doxat-Purser, chief executive of Faithworks Wessex, which also shared the protocol online, said: "It's really important and we wanted to make people aware of it.

"The basic idea in Bournemouth is that a rough sleeper goes to St Stephen's Church in St Stephen's Road and it will then be decided, depending on how many people there are, which accomodation they are given."

According the BCARs Facebook page, there are 10 places at St Paul's Hostel, three places with PAS housing and 10 with All Saints Church in Southbourne. Rough sleepers must be at the church by 9pm each evening to be offered accommodation.

In Poole, the central meeting point is the Salvation Army based in the High Street, where 10 places will be made available at the Gateway Church in Alder Road.

To contact Bournemouth Council about a rough sleeper, call 01202 451451 Borough of Poole's rough sleepers team can be contacted on 01202 315962 Dorset County Council can be contacted on 01202 221000