Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs help out some homeless people during UK's bitter winter

Giggs and Neville are helping a group of homeless people

A group of around 30 homeless people took shelter in the empty stock exchange building in Norfolk Street, Central Manchester. The property belongs to Manchester United legends, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, who bought the building earlier this year to convert it into a luxury hotel.

In a comforting turn of events, the duo told the homeless that they could stay until February when the building work will start. Wesley Hall, a housing and human rights activist who is leading the protest for the homeless, talked about his experiences related to the case with The Guardian.

Hall admitted that he was not able to control his emotions after his phone conversation with Gary Neville. He stated that Neville easily agreed to his requests and said, “From my point of view, I’m quite relaxed about this”. Initially, the activists feared that they might be asked to leave.

The activist thanked Neville for his help. He said, “Thank you so much – you don’t understand what you have done for us”.

Hall also discussed his plans further, “We have already drawn up inventories for cooking, cleaning and staffing the gate. Everyone will be able to have their own room and each person will be able to lock their bedroom door.

“We were expecting that as soon as Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville found out that we had occupied the building, they would try to get us evicted and that we would have to look for another building. Having a few months during the winter to work with homeless people without the threat of eviction hanging over our heads is brilliant.”

Wesley and his team want to provide everything necessary for the people to survive. They plan to provide hot food, health checkups, benefit advice and workshops for the people. They have named the campaign, Operation Safe Winter.

Though, Neville did draw some lines for the activists. He informed them that there might be constant visits from surveyors, workers and other officials, and that they should not be presented with any kind of difficulties. Obviously, the activists willingly agreed to his conditions and even suggested that they can help with the construction process.

“We undertake not to cause any damage to anything and to leave the building in as good if not a better state than we found it in. I have ordered smoke alarms to keep the building safe.

“I even suggested to Gary that he might be interested in employing some of the homeless people who are living here as laborers to help with the redevelopment work on the hotel,” Hall said.

In an interview with BBC, Hall said that Gary wants them to look after the building and respect the original structure. The activist also added, "These people aren't getting a nourishing meal, their immune systems are low and they are dying. All it needs is someone to put a roof over their head and give them a bit of support".

The Manchester United duo got the planning permission to convert the Stock Exchange into a luxury hotel earlier this year. Giggs and Neville bought the building for £1.5m. Reportedly, the hotel will have a gym, spa, roof terrace for members and a ground-floor restaurant along with other world class amenities.