Cash to beggars ‘creates zombies’
COUNCIL’S DRUG ALERT
PEOPLE are being urged not to give beggars cash at Christmas as some will only spend it on drugs.
Town Hall chiefs say it may only fuel their addiction and trap them into a cycle of rough sleeping.
Some beggars are raising £100 every day, spending it on horror drug Spice, and then wandering around town centres looking like zombies.
Councillors at Blackburn with Darwen Council in Lancashire said the number of beggars asking passers-by for cash is rising. Cllr Naushad Surve said: “A year ago there was a problem with organised gangs begging in the town centre.
“It calmed down for a bit, but it has reared its head again.”
Cllr Vicky McGurk warned that synthetic drug Spice made the situation worse. She said: “There seems to be a pandemic at the moment of people using it.
“It is so cheap and it is so devastating but it’s so difficult to deal with.”
And she added: “I spoke to someone who used it and they said it makes you warm – that’s why they use it.”
Council campaign #begforchange has the slogan: “Help stop begging on the street, give to charity instead.”
Father Jim McCartney, founder of a local charity which helps people on the margins of society, said: “When people can make a living from begging, they don’t see a reason to stop.
“We want people to keep on giving, but to know that giving to people begging on the street can be counterproductive.”