A vital charity-run service which helps the homeless in South Derbyshire has been saved from closure - for now - after securing money to continue operating for two months.

Charity P3 run its countywide Derbyshire Outreach Team (DOT), which includes a base in Hill Street, Swadlincote, and is celebrating the temporary reprieve.

Last week, it announced that the team, which has helped support 122 homeless and vulnerable people in the county in the past year, would close on Wednesday, January 31, due to lack of funding.

But a Derbyshire borough council has given undisclosed amount of money which will pay for the service to run until the end of March.

Staff including P3’s assistant director of operations Rebecca Harrington-Leigh, who works at branches including the Swadlincote centre said they were "extremely worried" for the wellbeing of those living on the streets, but have been given a lifeline by Chesterfield Borough Council after it agreed to hand over money.

It costs £60,000 per year to run the outreach programme, says P3.

The cash boost has left the charity hopeful that others will come forward to keep it running long term.

Rebecca said: "We are delighted to be able to announce that funding has been secured for the immediate future of P3’s Derbyshire Outreach Team.

"Chesterfield Borough Council has agreed – in partnership with the Derbyshire districts – to fund the service until the end of March while longer term solutions are considered.

"This means that we are already responding to new incoming rough sleeper referrals on the team's freephone number of 0808 1647 753 and via Streetlink at contact@streetlink.org and we are continuing to engage with the people already known to the service who are rough sleeping across the county.

"We are now extremely hopeful that the service will continue long-term.

"Thank you to everyone who responded to our call to save DOT, your support reinforced the importance of ensuring this small, but impactful service remains open."