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This is the converted double-decker bus that will soon arrive on the streets of Newport to offer the homeless a temporary place to sleep.

The bus has bed space for 12 people, as well as two showers, two toilets, a kitchen and a small lounge area.

It has been built by volunteers with the Helping Open People's Eyes (HOPE) group using money collected over more than a year of tireless fundraising.

The project is now in its finishing stages and volunteers are confident it will be on the road as a mobile shelter for street sleepers in a few weeks time.

Bus driver Ian Smith and his wife Tammy from Cefn Fforest, Blackwood, had the idea for the night shelter after visiting a similar project in Bristol last year.

(Image: Ian Smith) (Image: Ian Smith)

"We have been feeding the homeless for the last four years," Ian, 44, said.

"It is getting more and more common and we are seeing a lot more people on the streets.

"I first seen Jasper Thompson and his Bristol Home for the Night campaign. He had a bus there which was converted. I saw his project and I thought what a wonderful thing so I thought we should start fundraising for it."

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Ian is a self-employed minibus driver. He began raising money for his project in October last year.

His organisation are not a registered charity, so the majority of the funds were raised through raffles and donations.

(Image: Ian Smith)

(Image: Ian Smith)

Ian eventually bought a working double-decker bus that was once used on the streets of London for about £5,000 and set to work converting it for the group's purposes.

He said the whole project cost nearly £20,000.

"I think it was £18,000," Ian said. "No grants whatsoever. It was fundraising and people and businesses helping out.

"It has been hard work but worth it."

Ian said the bus still requires a few repairs before it is ready to be used, but he is hoping it will be finished in the next few weeks.

(Image: Ian Smith)

(Image: Ian Smith)

"We want to get it out before Christmas but it is just whether we can get through these repairs," he said.

"But we are still looking for funding. To take the bus from Cefn Fforest to Newport is £60 in fuel."

Ian said at least two of the group's nine volunteers would be on duty with the bus while it is in use.

He said the group plan to use the bus for a few nights a week at first and may look to extend in the future.

To find out more about the HOPE project, visit their website .