JOHN Kenny from Lothersdale is planning to spend a long weekend sleeping rough -and he could be spending one very cold night wearing just a grass skirt and a pair of shoes.

John will be taking part in the Great Tommy Sleep Out, which aims to help homeless veterans. Organised by the Royal British Legion Industries, it challenges people to spend just one night under the skies during March to fundraise and to raise awareness of the currently 6,000 homeless ex- servicemen and women.

John says he plans to spend the night of Friday, March 26, and the following Saturday and Sunday nights, sleeping rough, in a patch of woodland near to where he lives - and if he is pledged more than £1,500, he says he will spend the third night wearing just a grass skirt, to cover his modesty, and a pair of shoes, in case he has to get up in the night.

He said: “I will be sleeping out in a Covid safe remote area local, without a tent, constructing a shelter from whatever is laying about on the floor, there will be no chopping of trees, and to add insult to injury I said if I hit £1,500 I would do the third night naked bar footwear and a grass skirt for modesty reasons.”

John has set up a Justgiving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-kenny7, or find him on Facebook. He is currently on £1,177.