Taunton Deane Mayor Andrew Govier had even more cause than usual for sleeping during a council meeting on Wednesday (September 3) morning - he'd spent the previous night sleeping rough on the streets of Taunton.

Mr Govier just had time to nip home to Wellington for a shower and change of clothing after spending 12 hours from 8pm on Tuesday in a sleeping bag in the town centre before rushing into County Hall.

The event, organised to highlight the plight of the homeless, helped raise over £400 for the Mayor's charities, which include Taunton Association for the Homeless.

Mr Govier, who was joined by a number of other people, said: "In the end, I only got about five minutes' sleep.

"Taunton was quite lively even though it was Tuesday, with people coming out of nightclubs at 2am - and just as you think it's quiet, then the cleaners start to arrive at around 4am.

"The experience makes you pretty grateful for what you've got. It wasn't very comfortable, but it must be much worse for people who are genuinely homeless because at least we were together in a group."

Mr Govier said homelessness is a big problem in Taunton and a couple of youngsters told him they had been sleeping under trees in Victoria Park and Goodland Gardens over the summer.

And he said 285 homeless people had been evicted from public toilets over the past year after trying to sleep the night there.