LONDON – Jamie, a homeless British man, given a shelter in a mosque during the blistering cold weather, has thanked Muslims for offering a much-needed safe haven.

“I’m just grateful that I’m in a mosque,” said Jamie.

Jamie is one of the homeless people who resorted to British and Irish mosques during the latest freezing weather that gripped the region over the past days.

The icy and snowy blizzard known as ‘Beast from the East’ has hit the UK, wrecking a lot of havoc with roads and transportation brought to a standstill

Meeting Storm Emma, the polar blast from Siberia has seen temperatures dip to around -6C. It is reported to be the coldest February in five years.

In Oldham, Manchester, the European Islamic Centre (EIC), one of the largest Muslim facilities in the northwest, opened its doors to welcome homeless and needy.

The Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland, Clonskeagh Mosque, also announced opening its doors to homeless people in the Irish capital Dublin during Storm Emma.

Britain is home to an estimated Muslim minority of nearly 2.7 million, according to 2011 survey.