A 15-year-old girl raised thousands of pounds by sleeping rough on the streets of Weymouth for 24 hours.

Phulmaya Bhusal raised £4,213.65 for her work in raising awareness for The Bus Shelter in Weymouth.

She presented the money to a representative of The Bus Shelter during an assembly at Beaminster School, where she is a student.

Sarah Vickery, of The Bus Shelter, gave a presentation to the school about the homeless charity.

Through a thought-provoking address to students, she gave the background to the project and outlined the difficulties that homeless people face, as well as explaining how the charity can help them.

At the end of the presentation, Phulmaya and her mother Natasha Hope, who also took part in the 24-hour rough sleep, went on stage to hand over the cheque.

Phulmaya dedicated many hours over six months as part of the volunteer section of her Silver Duke of Edinburgh award.

She raised awareness about homelessness and the Bus Shelter, spent time with guests, raised funds through busking and held a school cake sale. The main event - ‘24 hours on the streets’ - in April, saw a team sleep out on the streets of Weymouth in almost freezing conditions for 24 hours.

Natasha said: “Many thanks to all who sponsored, donated, and cheered her on - including Beaminster School - and an especially big shout out to the fantastic 24 hours team that supported Phuly throughout - Melissa and Ruby Denton, Jez Culley, Elaine Smith and Steve Crowe.

“Phulmaya hopes that as well as raising funds for the Bus Shelter guests, she has encouraged people to think more open mindedly about people living on the streets.

“After all, this could happen to any one of us and it’s vital that we find ways to include, acknowledge, understand and work together to bring positive changes and reduce homelessness both locally and nationally.”

Keith Hales, Beaminster School headteacher, said: “We are very proud of all the effort that Phuly has undertaken to raise this money for such a worthwhile cause, and delighted that the whole school could share in this important work.”