Staff at The Co-operative Child-care in the Great Western Hospital slept rough on Friday night to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Ten members of staff from the nursery slept under the stars between 8pm and 7.30am to raise more than £300 for the charity.

Nursery manager Tracy Rundle said: “We are part of Mid Counties Co-operative so their national charity this year and last year is the Teenage Cancer Trust.

“Last year we did a three-legged race doing two laps around Coate Water and we raised £340.

“This year we wanted to do something wackier to try and raise even more money so we thought we would sleep rough.

“We had raised £300 at the last count and the money is still coming in.”

The group all bedded down in sleeping bags in the nursery garden.

Tracy said: “A lot of our staff are scared of insects and spiders so that was a bit of a challenge, but we slept in the back garden so we knew we would be safe and no proper wildlife, like foxes or anything could get in.

“It was difficult and we did talk about what it would be like to be homeless and do it all the time. It wasn’t comfortable.

“We were lucky because it was quite a warm evening, but there was a lot of giggling and we only got four hours sleep.”

Tracy was pleased with the money they had raised, and said people’s generosity was increased by the story of teenager Stephen Sutton who lost his own battle with cancer aged just 19 last month.

The Staffordshire teenager was just 15 when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and spent his last few years ticking off a bucket list and raising more than £3.2m for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Tracy said: “Cancer affects so many people and it’s touched so many lives.

“I think more people donated this year because of Stephen Sutton and how much he raised for the charity.”

The Teenage Cancer Trust supports young people aged 13 to 24 who are diagnosed with cancer.

It is dedicated to providing expert treatment and support for them from the moment they hear the word ‘cancer.’ To find out more about the Co-operative Childcare Centre in the GWH visit www.the cooperativechildcare.coop/our-nurseries/swindon-hospital.

To find out more about the charity visit the website which can be found at www.teenagecancertrust.org.