Technology bosses sleep rough for charity

IT experts raised £50,000 for a homeless childrens charity in a sponsored sleep-out last Friday night. Each participant had to raise at least £2,000 by laying out in the grass at London's Finsbury Park in orange bags.

Bill Bottriell of Computer Futures raised the most, collecting £11,000 through a combination of sponsorship and corporate donations.

Mike Morgan, MD of Computron Software Europe, explained why he was taking part. "House the Youth 2000 addresses the key concern that I have about modern society. Given the state of the economy, there is no need for anyone to be homeless, let alone the youth of tomorrow," he told Silicon News.

The organisers, National Children's Homes (NCH) were delighted with the response: "We share a common deadline with the IT industry. They need to beat the millennium bug by 2000, and we want to deliver a blow against homelessness by then."

Other rough sleepers included Andy Palmer, UK MD of 3Com, and John Higgins, director-general of the Computer Services and Software Association.

NCH Action for Children plans to repeat the event next year.