British beggars cashing in with tax-free pay days

London: Their apparently pitiful existence and pleas for money attract the generosity of many passers-by.

But some beggars are making the equivalent of a £20,000-a-year (Dh73,448) salary and are not homeless at all, police have revealed.

They estimate many city centre regulars, who pretend to live on the street, make more money than hard-working professionals.

Some are routinely taking home as much as £40 a day, rising to £100 at weekends.

Working a six-day week, they can earn as much as £300 untaxed income a week, giving them a salary of £15,600.

After tax and National Insurance deductions workers on a salary of £20,000, roughly what newly-qualified teachers earn, take home £15,391.85 a year.

Prosecute offenders

Following the survey of beggars in Lincoln, police in the city have launched an operation to get them off the streets and prosecute persistent offenders.

Lincolnshire Police says one man regularly makes more than £50 a day, calling it tantamount to theft.

Inspector Mark Garthwaite said: "While we do have people who live on the streets of Lincoln with serious personal and financial problems, there are some who are simply using this as a way of making money and sometimes they are threatening and intimidating."

Recordable offence

Begging was made a recordable offence in 2003 but does not carry a prison sentence.

The crackdown in Lincoln follows revelations last year that many beggars in Leicester were in fact office workers topping up their salaries by up to £200 a night.

Police suspected many beggars were returning from their nine-to-five day jobs and dressing up in rags before targeting commuters by waiting outside shops and next to cashpoints. One office worker had apparently started begging in Leicester city centre to pay for a new kitchen for her flat.