A YORK street kitchen is asking well-wishers to help its work with the city's homeless via the Amazon website.

Helping Other People In Need Group - or Hoping - has put a wishlist on the internet giant's website.

It is asking well-wishers to buy items via the website, which will then deliver them direct to the charity.

The list includes gloves, socks, sleeping bags, roll mats, deodorants and other items useful for those who sleep on the streets.

Lisa Price, of Hoping, said: "We did one at Christmas which went immensely well."

The Christmas wishlist appeal gained the charity, which runs a street kitchen, 50 sleeping bags and roll mats among other items. But the stockpile it created is now almost finished.

Ms Price said homeless people literally had nowhere to keep their belongings safe, other than by carrying them.

So if they put their sleeping bag in what they thought was a safe hiding place, it may not be there on their return.

In particular, items put behind bins for safekeeping are taken by binmen who do not realise they are wanted and are not rubbish.

She said when she and colleagues tried sleeping out in November, they found the roll mats were invaluable in keeping warm because they prevented cold rising from the pavement into their bodies.

Socks were also very important because warm dry feet help keep the rest of the body warm.

The charity runs two street kitchens a week, on Wednesdays and Sundays, and has built up a rapport with many homeless people.

It is sometimes called Hoping York Street Kitchen or Hoping Street Kitchen York.