If numb hands and face did not tell you, or you had not read the Met Office forecast, it was cold in mid-February. So cold that an extra winter shelter was opened... As overnight temperatures in February plummeted to below zero, St Mungo's opened an emergency cold weather shelter for rough sleepers at St Luke's Centre in Kennington. St Mungo's staff opened it at short notice on Friday 15th February, as the weather forecast predicted freezing ground temperatures across the city. The cold weather shelter manager Julie Bakewell told The Pavement: "We're really very pleased to be able to offer these extra beds. Many rough sleepers already have severe health conditions and there is a very real danger they could die from hypothermia in this weather. "The shelter also provides a safe place where we can work with people to find them more permanent accommodation. It is vital that we get as many people indoors as we possibly can." The shelter's residents were offered a hot shower, a cooked dinner and breakfast and clean clothes. The centre closed after a few days as temperatures rose again.