Nottingham 'beggar' found with £800 in his pockets

WHEN police emptied the pockets of a city centre beggar they discovered he was carrying £800.

Officers say the man is one of a group of ten regular Nottingham beggars who they believe are not genuinely homeless or in need of help.

He was arrested on Tuesday for another offence but when police searched him they found he was carrying the haul of notes and coins.

Senior officers said the find was proof the hardcore group, who they have not named, do not need people to give them money.

Chief Inspector Shaun Ostle, of Notts police, said: "This shows they are basically conning people. He said it was three days' work. Finding that amount of money on someone like that doesn't surprise us any more – which is perhaps the more worrying thing, really."

Police say that although the man is a known beggar, they were forced to hand the money back to him because they had arrested him for something else and it could not be proven he had broken any laws by possessing it. He was released without charge.

As previously reported by the Post, a different member of the ten beggars has boasted of making up to £700 a week.

Some of the group have also been posing as Big Issue sellers. Mr Ostle said: "They have been stopped before with similar amounts on them. It just shows that when some of these people ask for money it is just a scam. People need to understand they are being conned.

"These people have more than enough so that they don't need to go on begging. We've even had officers approach members of the public that have given them £10 and ask 'you do realise he's not homeless?' and people say 'yes but I feel sorry for him'."

Police issued the warning to shoppers after frequently having to deal with what they describe as the "hardcore" of beggars. Officers have been regularly speaking to them and moving them on – although some have been arrested.

Mr Ostle: "One of the officers at the station said 'it beggars belief' and that completes it all really. We are putting on plain-clothes patrols to continue to catch people begging. Those caught could face arrest and possible court orders."

At the time of the police warning in December, Nottingham homelessness charity Framework advised people not to give to beggars.

Mr Ostle said: "This is only a minority of people; some are genuinely needy and are helped by charities like Framework. But the people I am talking about are dishonest and have refused that help."

Jason Marriott, manager of Framework's street outreach team, said in December: "People who beg, even if they are not sleeping rough, do so mainly as a result of significant personal and social issues."

He added that he would encourage people not to give to beggars as there was no way of knowing how their money would be spent.

Instead, he asked people to call the Framework rough sleepers hotline free on 0800 066 5356 and tell them where a beggar is.

Source

Nottinghampost