A BEGGAR admitted he made £200 a day in Accrington town centre, police said.

Officers in Hyndburn have launched an operation to tackle begging in the borough,

In the first three days five people were identified as begging in the borough and police said all have been offered assistance and intervention.

One man was arrested and charged with the offence and bailed to magistrates court to not enter Accrington town centre.

A police spokesman said the man revealed he made £200 a day from begging.

The spokesman said: "The aim of the operation is to use a multi -agency approach to support and safeguarding the genuinely vulnerable and homeless but backed by police enforcement in order to tackle the continued anti-social element that causes harassment to the public and businesses through begging.

"Hyndburn policing Team will continue to pro-actively work with partner agencies to tackle these issues which have been further highlighted recently as a result of people’s responses to being surveyed as part of Lancashire Talking."