Young people impacted by homelessness in Stoke-on-Trent will have a hot Christmas dinner and festive treats this weekend thanks to local fundraising.

Concrete, part of Honeycomb Group, aims to end homelessness in Staffordshire and the surrounding areas. 

Earlier this year, former Concrete staff member Julie Russell ran a gruelling Tough Mudder mud run to raise money for Concrete's Young Person's Service, based in Hartshill. 

Julie is currently Head of Support and Wellbeing for home repairs and support specialists Revival, also part of Honeycomb Group.

Julie raised over £200, which means that the Young Person's Service team can purchase food, including Christmas dinners, for their young people to enjoy over the festive period.

Kind-hearted Julie said that her Tough Mudder was 'a challenge' but she was keen to complete it to raise money for a good cause.

The 10k run involved 20 obstacles including crawling under nets, climbing and wading through freezing cold water.

"Having worked for Concrete previously, I knew that their customers have been through a lot," explained Julie.

"Christmas can be a difficult and lonely time for many people – that includes young people. I wanted to raise enough money to cover something that they could look forward to. 

"I thought it would be great for them to all come together to have a lovely meal and enjoy each other's company during the festive period."

Young Person's Service Manager, Anna Mather, said: "We're so grateful to Julie and just want to say a huge, huge thank you. Being supported by colleagues across Honeycomb Group like her is amazing. 

"When it comes to Christmas, we do tend to worry about how we can treat our customers. For young people in particular we really wanted this to be an enjoyable time where they can have fun, so Julie has really helped us to do that this year. 

"The young people that we support aren't just Concrete's young people - they are the young people of our community. Fundraising like this shows how we can work together as a community to support them and really make a difference."