A revolutionary life-saving tent is being deployed on the streets of Kent to protect homeless people from the freezing weather.

Forty of the emergency, single-occupancy shelters, called “sleep pods”, have been donated to the Canterbury-based charity Porchlight.

Now its outreach workers will be able to offer them to those sleeping rough across the county.

The tents were designed by a group of volunteers working in refuge centres across Europe who went on to create a charity in 2015 and have now supplied 5,000 of them.

Thanks to its thermal materials, testing suggests that when it is as low as -16ºC outside, a person's own bodyheat can raise the temperature inside the pod to +5ºC.

Many people who usually sleep rough in Kent have been found emergency nighttime accommodation to escape the severe cold but some remain on the streets with their health at risk from the plummeting temperatures.

Porchlight communications co-ordinator Chris Thomas says the sleep pods could prove a lifesaver.

“Obviously, our aim is to get people off the streets and into accommodation but where that hasn’t been possible, the sleep pods could prevent a tragedy,” he said.

“They will help keep people safe from these absolutely horrible conditions that we are going through outside.

“Sadly, there are still people sleeping rough in this freezing weather, often with flimsy tents that offer little protection, which puts them at great risk.

“But a sleep pod could be a lifesaver as they have been especially-designed to be rain and wind resistant and are insulated to keep out the cold.

“We are grateful to sleep pod for donating them to us and our outreach teams will be on the streets and giving them to those in need.”