The council is offering emergency shelter for the homeless tonight, as temperatures drop below freezing.

Medway is putting its Severe Weather Emergency Protocol in place which means it will provide overnight help for those living on the streets.

Rough sleepers will be assessed at Kingsley House in Gillingham and then directed to accommodation at different places around the Towns.

The shelter comes one week after homeless man Michael McCluskey, who was in his late 40s, was found dead in a shop doorway on Chatham High Street.

A Medway Council spokesman said: “The Severe Weather Emergency Protocol will be put in place tonight, which means the council will work with charitable organisations to find accommodation for rough sleepers for the duration of severe weather forecast.

"Usually this is triggered when weather forecasts indicate temperatures will drop below zero degrees for three nights in a row.

“While we haven’t yet reached this trigger point, the temperature on Tuesday night was below zero, and the temperature on Wednesday night was lower than the forecast, so as a precaution we are implementing the SWEP in case temperatures dip lower than predicted again.

“We will work with local charities who will contact the rough sleepers known to them. They will be advised to go to Kingsley House in Gillingham. Looking at the forecast for the rest of the week, we expect the SWEP to be in place for one night.”

She added: “The council works with charitable organisations all year round to help homeless people find appropriate accommodation.

"It is very sad to see people sleeping on the streets, especially at this time of year, and we would urge anyone sleeping rough to contact the council so they can be taken through all of the options available to them.”

There have been calls for the council to do more to help the homeless this winter.

Meanwhile, a group of people from churches in the Towns have been providing shelter on some nights.