City where police warn: Every beggar is faking it
Officers say none are really homeless, they just want your money
THERE are no genuine homeless people in one of Britain’s cathedral cities, police claim.
Beggars are simply taking advantage of a ‘lucrative opportunity’, they say.
According to officers in Ely, Cambridgeshire, every single rough sleeper has been offered support, and the public are at risk of being ‘misled’ by those asking for cash.
The local council suggested that those on the streets may have turned down help because it was possible ‘to earn substantial amounts of money on the streets’.
It urged people not to give the beggars spare change, but instead offer to buy them food or a hot drink if they wanted to help.
The comments were made on one of Cambridgeshire Police’s Facebook pages in response to an apparent surge in beggars on the historic streets of Ely, a tourist destination where homes sell for around £420,000.
But yesterday, beggars in the city, 14 miles north-east of Cambridge, insisted they were genuinely homeless.
A 44-year-old man, who gave his name as Charlie, said he had been homeless for two years and camped in a tent, but claimed it had recently been removed by the council.
He said he had asked the council for support but had been told he would be ‘better off’ in Cambridge.
He said: ‘I told them, “If you don’t want any homeless people here, you need to find somewhere for me to sleep”. There are a few here that do have homes but not me, I am 100 per cent homeless.’
Speaking of his tough life on the street, he said: ‘I have had my ribs broken, I have been weed on, I have been nearly stabbed. It is just one thing after another. But one thing I do have is the public – they are so nice.’ When someone raised Charlie’s plight online last week, an East Cambridgeshire District Council spokesman said the man had been alerted ‘several times’ to the upcoming removal of his tent.
The spokesman added: ‘He has also been offered rooms in shared houses and temporary accommodation’.
Another man on the streets of Ely, who also gave his name as Charlie, said he had been homeless since 2000. The 60- year-old said: ‘I haven’t been offered a place to stay, no one has ever come up to me and said anything.’ Donna, 32, said she had been homeless since having a stroke three years ago. She described the comments by the police and council as ‘disgraceful’.
Dan Bennet, 48, is originally from the streets London of but Ely. now He lives said: on ‘It’s a joke. I am homeless. I’m down on the housing list as homeless. I have been homeless for five years since I came out of Lincoln Prison. I’d rather go back to prison because I will get warmth and a roof over my head.’
The post on the Policing East Cambridge Facebook page said: ‘We are keen to impress upon people that there are no rough sleepers in Ely. All the individuals that have been seen begging recently have been catered for with regards to housing and support. We do not want people to be misled.’ Sergeant Phil natural Priestley to feel for added: anyone ‘ It who is appears to be living on the streets. We urge anyone who wants to assist the issue to donate to charity. ‘If you do feel moved to give something – offer food or a warm drink by all means – but please do not offer money.’ thorough people East Council Cambridgeshire in need steps’ had find taken to support, ensure ‘very District the post added.
Angela Parmenter, the council’s housing manager, said: ‘ Sometimes people don’t want to engage with us because it is possible to earn substantial amounts of money on the streets of Ely.’
The city’s impressive cathedral dates back to 1083 and draws 250,000 visitors a year. The city also has a £30,000-ayear boarding school, King’s Ely, which was given a royal charter by Henry VIII in 1541. The council did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.
‘I’d rather go back to prison’