Uplyme man James Beavis will spend eight days living on the streets of London

A young Uplyme man is planning to spend Christmas living on the streets of London – to highlight the plight of the homeless.

James Beavis will be sleeping rough, without money or food, for eight days, starting on Saturday.

Cold and hunger are amongst the trials he faces during his ordeal – but the biggest fear is the real prospect of being attacked.

James, 22, is taking on the tough challenge to raise money for the charity Crisis which provides vital support for homeless people.

“I will have no phone, no money and no ID on me,” he told The Herald. “All I will have is a sleeping bag and a spare hoody and I will have to beg for my food and water.”

James, who will be working as a volunteer team leader at a Crisis centre during the day, said he had been warned that the worst part of living on the streets was not the cold but the violence often meted out to people sleeping rough.

“My priority will not be to find somewhere warm or out of the rain but to find somewhere out of the way, to keep safe,” he said.

“The second bit of advice I got was not to zip up your sleeping bag because if someone starts kicking you can’t get out and escape so easily.”

James, who lives with his father Paul at Venlake, was educated at the village primary school and Woodroffe comprehensive, in Lyme Regis.

He is currently studying medical science at Warwick University where he is also heavily involved in charity work as national convener of the National Student Fundraising Association (NaSFA).

By the end of last week James had already raised over �2,000 for Crisis. Readers can support his Christmas appeal for the homeless by visiting

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JamesBeavis