Street Beggar refused to take a regular job because begging paid more

Police in Nottingham arrested a man and charged him of begging in the streets, which has become a problem in Nottingham, but the beggar had more to reveal in court. During a hearing, the beggar Craig Atkinson, 36, pleaded guilty to begging but said the cash went on his two children. The beggar told a court his income would drop if he took “a regular job.”

He said: “If I got a proper regular job, I would get less money than I am doing this. People give me money. There are no victims. Other people sustain a £200 drug habit but mine goes to my two teenage children. I have got a few roofs. The problem in my life is I will not be in one place.”

He was given a six-month conditional discharge with a £15 government surcharge.
He said: “I can pay that for you now.”
But when magistrates also ordered £85 prosecution costs he replied:

Margaret Martin, prosecuting, said: “He said he makes more with this than with a job.”