BEGGING in Hereford did not pay off for one man.
Adam Staples was given a conditional discharge of 12 months after pleading guilty in Hereford Magistrates Court to three begging offences.
The court heard that 23-year-old Staples, of Belmont Road, described as 'totally and completely adrift', had problems which included drugs use.
He had been arrested when he was spotted asking for money in Capuchin Lane, Hereford, on April 26 and released on police bail.
A policeman saw him sat in the Eign Gate/Bewell Street alleyway to Tesco on May 2 covered with a blanket and with coins in his lap. He 'muttered something' at a passer-by.
Seven days later he was begging in the Victoria Street underpass.
Unemployed Staples, originally of Chesterfield, offered no explanation as to what had brought him to live in Hereford.
The magistrates ruled out costs of £150 because of his financial circumstances.
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