A Crystal Palace man swapped his bed for the pavement on Saturday night to raise money for street dwellers in India.
Actor Dermot Boyle, who lives in Camden Hill Road, was one of 20 people from around the country taking part in the Big Street Sleep in Hampstead organised by the charity Calcutta Rescue.
The charity, which runs medical clinics, schools and a range of other projects for slum dwellers in Kolkata, also hoped the event would highlight the plight of the poorest of the poor.
Mr Boyle took a career break last year to do voluntary work with the charity in India.
Since returning home he has been helping run the charity’s UK support group Calcutta Rescue Fund in his spare time.
Mr Boyle said: “I did the street sleep to raise money in a way that could combine a serious message with some humour - making new friends in the dead of night in Hampstead.
"It was not the most comfortable night of my life, but it cannot equate to the hardships faced on a daily basis by the people Calcutta Rescue serves.”
Calcutta Rescue was set up 30 years ago by a British doctor, Jack Preger, and last year helped 100,000 people with nowhere else to turn.
To find out more about the work of charity, which depends almost entirely on donations from the public, go to calcuttarescue.org.uk
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