Kennet Action for Single Homeless has moved its Devizes drop-in centre to bigger premises with more facilities.

The new centre has moved from a small office in Northgate Street to the Cromwell Rooms in Station Road.

KASH, a registered charity, offers housing advice and supported accommodation for homeless and potentially homeless single people in Kennet.

KASH held an open day on Friday, and opened properly on Monday.

Liam Pickford, KASH's project manager, said: "At Northgate Street we had a fifth of the area to work in than what we have at the Cromwell Rooms."

The centre is open to homeless people between 10.30am and 2pm Monday to Friday.

Facilities include a kitchen, which will serve lunch from noon to 1.30pm, for a nominal charge of £1.

The centre also has a shower, a clothes store, a washing machine and tumble dryer.

Mr Pickford said: "Our old centre did not have any kitchen facilities or offer the opportunities to shower or shave.

"The facilities here will give people who need to wash their clothes and have a shower the chance to do so.

"Our staff have been on a basic hygiene course and are qualified to prepare food.

"People can also drop in for a cup of tea, coffee and toast.

"We will be running workshops and we also have a separate consultation room where we can work with people one to one.

"Other organisations can come in and work with us and this is an excellent opportunity for us to work in partnership with other agencies," he said.

A spacious drop-in centre is something the charity has wanted to establish for a number of years.

Mr Pickford paid tribute to the staff and volunteers involved in making it a reality.

"With the amount of development going on within KASH and on top of the workload that we have, there has been a tremendous amount of pressure on all of the staff who have performed brilliantly," he said.

"Morale is very high which demonstrates what heart there is."

KASH held an open evening for residents living near the drop-in centre.

Ten residents attended and Mr Pickford said staff were able to reassure them about how the drop in centre would operate and the clients that would be using it.

Mr Pickford is appealing for people who have a few hours to spare to become volunteers for KASH.

He said: "We are not asking people who are highly skilled although we recognise that people bring skills to an organisation.

"We will offer training and support to match them in their skills."

KASH will for the first time be opening up its drop in centre to offer homeless people breakfast, lunch and dinner on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Mr Pickford said: "The centre will be open from 9.30am to 4.30pm. It can be a joyless time at Christmas, when you are feeling isolated, cold and hungry while others are enjoying themselves."

A number of residents who attended the open evening have volunteered to help when the centre is open over Christmas.

The number of clients KASH sees is growing. Last year it helped 317 people by giving support, advice, accommodation, advocacy and dealing with alcohol and drug issues.

KASH runs workshops on assertiveness, anger management, relapse prevention, listening skills and HIV/Aids awareness.It can also refer people to other agencies relating to issues such as alcohol, drugs, education, training and resettlement.

An important part of KASH's work is helping to prevent homelessness by holding workshops and talks in schools. To become a volunteer call 01380 725443.