250 people have chosen to ditch the comfort of their beds for a night and sleep on the streets to raise money for a homeless charity.

Amongst the famous faces lending their support at the Centrepoint Sleepout in Old Spitalfields Market on Thursday, were Niamh Cusack, Lisa Maxwell and Joe McFadden.

The first to welcome the happy campers was Seyi Obakin, CEO of the charity.

He said records suggested up to 75,000 young people are made homeless each year, and argued the government’s commitment to ending rough sleeping by 2010 was not enough.

He emphasised that it is not simply ‘rough sleeping’ that is the problem, but any young person who does not have a place they can call home.

Lisa Maxwell, TV personality, said that it wasn’t until she had participated in the sleepout that she found she could connect with homeless people.

She said: “It could be my son, my daughter, my brother, my sister; it could be any of yours.”

Centrepoint has asked participants to pledge to raise at least £500 each through sponsorship and fundraising events.

Prince William, Centrepoint’s Patron, who has lent his full support, said: “The more people who understand the devastation inflicted on young lives by homelessness, the more Centrepoint can do to support those same young people.

Young men and women are driven to homelessness for all sorts of reasons, and the support that Centrepoint offers can be life-saving and life-changing.”

One young girl who needed the charity’s aid described it as the “angels [that] came and helped me.”

The charity is not promoting just this one single event, but launching its Countdown to Christmas Appeal, with celebrity support from Tweeters such as Stephen Fry.

Supporters are asked to offer a Christmas meal or a bed for the night for those seeking help at the shelter.

Shormeh Omaboe, a spokeswoman for Centrepoint, detailed the impact the current recession and subsequent job losses are having on homelessness.

She said: “[Families] say that they can’t afford to continue to support their children and just beg us to take them. The impact has mainly been that children, who are not contributing to the household, are getting kicked out of home because their parents do not have the means by which to look after them.”

For more information or to lend your support go to www.centrepoint.org.uk.