The Apprentice's Lord Sugar speaks out in support of Leeds charity Homeless Street Angels

Homeless Street Angels, founded by sisters Shelley and Becky Joyce, works tirelessly to provide food, clothing and housing support to the city's rough sleepers.

And since the pandemic began, demand for its services has grown exponentially - the charity now delivers food parcels to more than 200 Leeds families, as well as supporting those on the verge of homelessness.

In the tweet, Lord Sugar said: "@LeedsAngels are helping to house, feed and clothe the homeless in Leeds.

"They are a fantastic charity. Please give all you can to help this very worthy cause."

Shelley said Lord Sugar has been an advocate of the charity for several years, after one of her friends, who knows the billionaire businessman, told him about their work in Leeds.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, she said: “He’s always been a sideline supporter of our charity and he’s tweeted a few times for us.

“We need it now more than ever. The outreach is getting super busy, we’re giving out twice as much stuff every Thursday, but we’ve also got more than 200 families on our food parcel books now.

“With energy prices going up and the increase in cost of living, we’re dealing with more middle class families.

"It’s getting desperate everywhere. We’re giving out more than £1,000 worth of items every single Thursday when we do our outreach.

“The demographics are changing, we’re covering loads of different areas and it’s just expanding - and we’re getting so many referrals from all the services.

"We’re busier than ever.

“The tweet has come at a good time as we’ve just opened the office in Chapel Allerton, which is going amazing."

The new Homeless Street Angels HQ is a step towards the sisters' dream of opening Abi House, a community hub named after their late sister, who died in 2017.

The centre would provide mental health support, drug and alcohol counselling and life skills workshops, as well as a hub to drop off food donations, collect parcels and get help with housing.

It's been an incredibly challenging two years for the charity, as donations plummeted and demand surged during the pandemic, but the charity continued its vital work throughout lockdowns.

"It’s such a privilege to do what we do," Shelley added.

"They say if you have a job you love, you’ll never have to work again in your life - and that’s what it’s like.

"Every morning, you don’t know what the day is going to bring - every day is a different challenge.”