Sir Chris Hoy sleeps out for Social Bite village

Sir Chris Hoy during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Picture, Getty

Sir Chris Hoy is to join 250 people sleeping rough for a night to raise money for a new village for the homeless.

Social Bite plans to provide a low-cost, supervised and safe living environment for up to 20 homeless people with ten purpose-built homes in Granton and needs to raise £500,000 for the project.

As part of a fundraising drive, around 250 of the most influential people in Scotland are to sleep rough in Charlotte Square.

The group will sleep out  from 7pm on December 15  until 7am the next morning, when they will be served breakfast by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Edinburgh-born Olympic champion Sir Chris said he is looking forward to the sleep-out.

“It takes a lot to get me to give up my bed but the Social Bite Village is an extremely worthwhile cause,” he said.

“Social Bite is being bold in trying to show how the cycle of homelessness can be broken, by giving people support and stability, and that’s something that I’m keen to back.

“Sleeping rough for one night might just be a small gesture, but the money raised will go to kick-start the fundraising for this extraordinary project.”

Movie star Leonardo DiCaprio stopped for lunch at Social Bite venture Home last month.