BEGGAR OFF! That's the message from the town's scroungers, who are communting to more lucrative sites because they claim Preston folk are too tight!

Beggar Simon Anthony Reid was fined £50 by Blackburn Magistrates last week after being caught begging in Ainsworth Street, Blackburn, in the town centre.

He was arrested after a police officer witnessed two women putting money in Reid's hat, with a third about to.

Reid, 23, who lives at the Clifton Hotel, in Preston, told magistrates he had been forced to commute to Blackburn because he had been advised by a mate that it would be easier to get money.

He was fined £50 with £50 costs.

When he said he could not pay immediately, he was ordered to serve a day in custody in lieu. His story is one which has been echoed by beggars still trying to collect coppers on the streets of Preston.

Apparently, setting yourself up with a cloth cap and blanket on Fishergate is no longer profitable, thanks to the determination of local people to keep their money in their pockets.

One - who claimed his street name was 'Knife', apparently because his real surname is Sharp - said only a hard-core of determined beggars remain.

He said: "Preston used to be a real soft touch because you could come in, sit down, and people shopping give you money straight away.

"But so many people latched on to it that we only really get any money at night when people are drunk. It isn't safe then so there is no point.

"People in other towns are much kinder, especially in Burnley."

Over the past year, Preston Police has targeted beggars after complaints from the public that they were becoming too aggressive.

A spokesman said: "We have urged people not to give money to beggars because it is against the law for them to beg. That seems to have work and we will continue to make Preston as unattractive as possible for them."

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