Homeless people in Bradford have been urged to seek shelter from the extreme cold after a young woman suffered suspected frostbite sleeping rough in the city.

It is understood the woman, in her 20s, needed hospital treatment after her fingers turned black in the sub zero temperatures.

Now a Bradford charity is warning those without a roof over their head to seek help in finding warmth and shelter.

Barry Johnson, a support worker at Bradford Day Shelter, on Edmund Street, said he was sad to hear about the woman.

“It does not surprise me that people are suffering in the extreme cold,” he said.

“I can imagine that could happen to people sleeping rough. We have heard of people in Bradford freezing to death in past years. Our regular customers are saying they have never known it so cold.”

Mr Johnson said up to 20 people a day were coming through the shelter doors needing help.

They were cared for there until about 6pm and then referred to the Inn Churches initiative, which provides emergency accommodation at churches in the district.

Mr Johnson said the Bradford Day Shelter was open seven days a week, including over Christmas and the New Year.

People could also get help from Incommunities, in Forster Square. Meanwhile, paramedics have been rescuing people made ill by the freezing weather.