A DIGITAL treasure hunt will cast light on the work of city charities and the plight of the homeless when it goes live this week.

Students from Oxford Brookes have created an interactive trail to take tourists and residents around the city to highlight some of its worthiest causes.

It will start at Modern Art Oxford and will consist of Quick Response (QR) codes that can be recognised by smartphones.

Scanning a code will take users to a website that will give clues about where to go next on the trail.

First year architecture student Harriet Walby, one of the brains behind the scheme, said: "We'll be putting the QR codes outside venues and places in Oxford.

"So if a person visits the Ashmolean Museum and the next place on the trail is the Ultimate Picture Palace, they can scan the code and they'll get a clue to where they need to go next."

As well as acting as a tool for tourists, the interactive trail - which ends at the site for the new Northway Community Centre - aims to make residents and visitors more aware of homelessness and charity work around Oxford.

Miss Walby, 19 from Headington, said: "On the trail we want to take people off the beaten track, as well as help local charities by promoting them."

When the trail ends at the hoardings of the new Northway Community Centre, people will find themselves at a wooden sculpture of a homeless man.

On bits of wood, trail walkers can scan codes and find out information about charities such as The Gatehouse and Helen & Douglas House.

Miss Walby said: "We chose the homeless man because we wanted visitors to think of local issues in the area.

"In Oxford there are a lot of homeless people across the city and this brings attention to it."

The last official count by the city council took place in November 2014 when 26 rough sleepers were counted.

To research homeless issues, Miss Walby chose to spend a night on the streets in January.

She said: "It was really cold because it started snowing that night. I don't think people realise how physically draining it is.

"I slept with a couple of other people at The Covered Market, but didn't get that much sleep."

Fellow student 19-year-old Edward Tse said: "The important thing is that it will interact with people in the community and visitors.

"It's been good working as a team and we're hoping that it will work well."

The interactive trail will go live on Friday ((feb13)) and the four students from Oxford Brookes will also put up the sculpture on the hoardings of the Northway Community Centre.

For more information on the interactive trail visit theoxfordcollaborative.com

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