Eleven rough sleepers have moved into B&Bs in the run-up to Christmas thanks to a collaboration between Wycombe District Council (WDC) and the charity behind last month’s Big Sleep Out to raise money for the homeless.

Rough sleepers, whose usual refuge gives them no more protection from the elements than a cardboard box, can stay in bed and breakfast until a night shelter operated and funded by a local charity for the homeless opens in Wycombe at the end of December or early January.

The temporary B&B accommodation for those who kip down in shop doorways or park benches is longer than usual this Christmas.

WDC has chosen to go beyond previous parameters of government policy for rough sleepers at this time of the year.

Previously the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol [insiders call it SWEP] has been limited to providing a roof over their head only when the forecast of severe weather is for three nights on the trot.

This year the government has relaxed the rules.

The SWEP website says the government would like local authorities “to use their common sense”. Individual councils can decide when to step in and bring vulnerable rough sleepers in from the cold.

Wycombe is providing its 11 regulars with bed and breakfast from the end of November right through to when the night shelter opens - five weeks’ respite from having to brave whatever the elements throw at them.

When they move on to the night shelter at the end of the year their keep will continue to be paid for by the council.

The accommodation will be financed and largely manned by volunteers of Wycombe Homeless Connection (WHC), the charity which organised last month’s fund-raising event.

At last count and proceeds are still rolling in, this year’s sleep out raised a record £60,000, the highest amount in the five years the event has been held.

It also attracted the largest number of kipper-outers, a total of 200: 120 at Adams Park and 80 including 40 scouts in Marlow.

The WHC scheme enables otherwise rough sleepers and homeless to live in shared rooms with all mod cons.

Here they’ll receive bed and breakfast courtesy of the charity and food parcels provided by the council.

The whole venture from the beginning of December to the onset of spring the following year is a goodwill partnership between two organisations serving the community.

It’s paid for in part by government grants and funding provided to the council to give vulnerable citizens some of the comforts of modern living the more fortunate of us take for granted.

It is also financed by the proceeds of fund raising by the local charity dedicated to the homeless and the generosity of its huge army of volunteers who give up their time to befriend the guests.

Cllr Julia Langley, cabinet member for housing, said the council had gone beyond government guidelines for supplying emergency accommodation for the homeless in severe weather.

He said: “This year’s extended scheme was suggested by the charity’s operations manager James Boultbee.

“We work all year round with our partners at WHC, Wycombe Rent Deposit Guarantee Scheme, Connection Outreach Support, probation, Thames Valley Police, YMCA, Old Tea Warehouse, One Recovery Bucks and others to assist rough sleepers and to prevent the need for anyone to sleep rough.”