Homeless people given night in Malmaison Leeds hotel after company donates rooms to Leeds Homeless Street Angels

Charity Leeds Homeless Street Angels, were contacted by company Circles Sodexo group UK, on Thursday, November 11 after an event they were due to hold at the Malmaison hotel was cancelled.

Rather than let the rooms go to waste, the company director, Mr Michael Fildes, contacted the charity and offered the rooms to the homeless.

Sisters Becky and Shelley Joyce, who run the charity, said the gesture was "amazing" and said one man told them the gesture had "made him feel human again".

Becky said: "I was cooking my hundred meals like I always do every Thursday and at about five o'clock I got a phone call from a Michael Fildes who said that his company were having a business event but it had been cancelled so there were eight rooms going spare.

"He said about £1,000 pounds had been spent on the rooms and he'd hate for them to go to waste so he'd spoken with the managers at Malmaison and they'd agreed to let him donate it to us for people to stay in the hotel that night.

"I rang the hotel just to check and Leo the manager was great and said they were happy to accommodate.

"We went we did outreach at 7pm and then we chose the guys and walked them down to the hotel.

"We took them in and Celeste behind the desk was amazing.

"She was really nice to them and treated them like paying customers and didn't let them feel awkward at all."

But the best part, Becky said, was that they all got to enjoy a nice, hot bath.

Becky said: "One of our guys, who has been living in a derelict house, said he hasn't had a bath in two years and he was like 'I'm going to have a bath! Are you serious?'

"They all couldn't believe it and that was the nicest bit about it.

"Once we'd got them all settled in the rooms we went back around because we'd forgotten to tell them there was tea, coffee and biscuits in the wardrobe if they wanted and six out of eight of them were already in the bath!

"They'd jumped in as soon as they'd got in the rooms."

She added: "One of the guys, who usually sleeps in a tent by the canal, text me at 7.30am the next morning just saying 'thank you so much, I feel like a human again'.

"Another text to say 'thank you so much I haven't stopped smiling, I had three baths and a shower and didn't want to get out.

"'A boost for confidence and mental health, nice to feel normal again'.

"We are so blessed that we were chosen to do that

"Anyone that knows me knows I absolutely love Christmas and it was just like the true meaning of Christmas when we walked them up there and there were all the lights on outside - it was like a Christmas story, it was just lovely."

Sara Hargraves, general manager at the Malmaison Leeds said: "We are incredibly humbled to have been able to offer these eight rooms and a warm night’s stay to our local community, with special thanks going to the Homeless Street Angels charity for helping us coordinate.

"We were more than happy to accommodate Sodexo’s generous request when they realised the rooms were no longer needed, and thrilled that they were occupied by some of our locals in need in the community, all of whom were polite and a pleasure to have stay with us.”