THERE have been hundreds of prosecutions in West Yorkshire for begging over the past five years, figures show.

Figures from the Ministry of Justice show there were 485 prosecutions for begging across the county under the Vagrancy Act in the five years to June 2023.

The act also criminalises "sleeping out" - but there were no prosecutions in the area for this offence.

Under the 1824 law, anyone prosecuted faces a fine of up to £1,000 and a criminal record.

Begging has been a long-running problem in the Bradford area.

During a Bradford Council meeting towards the end of last year, Wibsey Labour Councillor David Green questioned whether people begging at traffic lights on the city's busiest roads were operating a "shift system".

He said: "It is becoming increasingly worrying.

"It must be particularly scary for women drivers on their own when you have someone banging on your window.

"There does seem to be a feel that there is some sort of organisation behind it - even if it is just a shift system that they have organised among themselves."

Across England and Wales, there have been nearly 2,888 prosecutions under the Vagrancy Act - just 13 were for sleeping out, while the rest were for begging.

Overall, 2,300 (80 per cent) resulted in a conviction, including 406 in West Yorkshire.

Matt Downie, Crisis chief executive, said the figures paint a "grim picture" of the reality of life on the streets.

He added: "Not only are people forced to live in fear, suffering regular violence and abuse, but they must also contend with the threat of being arrested. No-one should be criminalised for being homeless.

"The Vagrancy Act was, and continues to be, a cruel and counter-productive piece of legislation.

"And yet, as it stands, its incoming replacement - the Criminal Justice Bill - will be even more punitive, increasing the level of fines and introducing a vague definition of 'nuisance' rough sleeping.

"What people need is compassion, support and the ability to build a life away from the streets."

A Government spokesperson said: "We're determined to end rough sleeping for good and we have a plan to tackle the root causes of why people end up on the streets, backed by an unprecedented £2.4billion."

They added the Vagrancy Act will be replaced with new legislation "focused on supporting people to get off the streets" while allowing local authorities and the police to "address behaviour that can make the public feel unsafe".