The gymnasium at CedarBridge Academy provided a warm and welcome refuge from the storm for 67 people over the weekend.

Televisions, DVDs and magazines were provided for those bunking down for the night, as well as hot food and medical care. Renee Brown, from Child and Family Services, led the volunteer effort, which involved 13 others from Court Services, CedarBridge Academy and the Salvation Army.

"We had 55 males, 12 females, and that includes three families," she explained. "Everything is great. We've not had any incidents. We've had residents looking out for each other.

"Some people are homeless, some were staying at the Salvation Army, we have some families here because they were worried about seeing the storm out in their own homes."

According to Ms Brown, people began arriving on Friday afternoon, and carried on walking through the doors until 12.30 a.m yesterday.

"At the height of the storm they were still walking up the hill. That's when the last two people came in. They had a home to stay in but they didn't feel comfortable there," she explained.

"We had CedarBridge security staff plus two health department nurses here to help us with medical needs. We had individuals brought in from the hospital who were discharged from the emergency room. We had individuals that the Police found on the street wandering, and brought them in. We had people with a wide range of medical needs."

A 48-year-old man who has been living on the streets since Christmas owing to financial troubles, said: "It was very comfortable, very warm. The people that organised this place have been very pleasant and helpful in every way. The food has been excellent."

Kriss Williams, 36, did not intend to spend the night at the shelter. He explained: "I went to a party, me and my little brother. I wanted to come up here and get some food."

However, after they arrived around 4 p.m. on Sunday the weather closed in, so Mr. Williams ended up sleeping the night there. "Everybody's in good spirits," he said.

One man, who asked not to be named, said he had been at the site since Friday afternoon, and had nothing but praise for the operation.

"The staff have done a fantastic job," he said. "I wasn't sure that there was something like this for the homeless."