A COMPANY director from Tadley will join hundreds of other people in sleeping rough for charity.

Neil Hughes, a director at professional services firm KPMG in Theale, Berkshire, will sleep in Forbury Gardens in Reading on October 2.

The initiative is part of Action for Children’s Byte Night, which will see around 1,500 people sleep rough across eight locations in the UK.

Funds raised by the annual event help the charity support children and young people across the UK to have a safe and loving home.

Its services include Here4Me in Newbury, which provides vulnerable young people with independent visitors, mentors and advocates.

Mr Hughes said: “I’m proud to say that more than 30 businesses across our region including KPMG, Barclays, Vodafone, EY, RBS and Volume have already signed up to take part.

“However, we’re asking companies across Hampshire to find out more about our annual sleep-out, perhaps sign up a team and join us this year or next, or help us smash last year’s £1.1m total. This is my fourth Byte Night and each year the sleep-out gets better and the camaraderie you feel taking part with everyone even more special. It’s a unique opportunity for networking and team building and although it’s a hard night, it’s also fun - but the difference is we can return to warm homes, full fridges, and cosy beds in the morning. For many children and young people living in the UK this simply isn’t the case.”

To donate, find out more or register to take part, go to bytenight.org.uk or contact the Byte Night team on bytenight@actionforchildren.org.uk.