Homeless people in Swindon are to be offered shelter as temperatures in the town plummet.

Swindon Borough Council took to Twitter to explain that with temperatures falling to zero degrees or lower for three consecutive days, the government-backed Severe Weather Emergency Protocol is activated which means that homeless people will be offered support.

The council posted on Wednesday and explained that they will “accommodate anyone who presents themselves as homeless and will use additional accommodation such as B&Bs and hotels if needed".

“Individuals will make their own decision about whether to accept an offer of shelter based on their individual circumstances," the spokesperson continued.

The StreetLink website can be used to report someone who is sleeping rough and help connect the person in question to the appropriate services.

The website also allows somebody who is sleeping rough to report it and find out about what services and support are available for them.

The website explains that once notified of a person in need, “alerts are sent to outreach teams, who go out mostly at night to connect people sleeping rough to local support services”.

On Friday night, temperatures are due to fall to -3C, according to the BBC weather forecast.