BEGGAR: " I EARN MORE ON THE STREET THAN WORKING A REAL JOB"

The court heard that begging was a major problem in Nottingham and a police operation was set up to combat it. Craig Atkinson, 36, was arrested and 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.”He told Nottingham Magistrates Court on Tuesday that he is homeless but went on:“I have got a few roofs.
The problem in my life i sI 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:“Please send me to prison. I have no intention ofpaying it.”Margaret Martin, prosecuting, said: “He said he makes more with this than with a job.”