BEGGING is seven times more prevalent than any other Bolton town centre issue, a two-and-a-half year study has found.

Civil enforcement officers have been patrolling the streets to enforce the provisions of a public spaces protection order (PSPO) since April 2019.

And in that time, up until last August, officers encountered street beggars on 772 occasions.

Another 2,758 follow-up interactions with people seeking money were recorded over the same period and 71 fixed penalty notices were issued.

This compares to 91 confrontations with people drinking on the streets - which led to 14 repeat offenders and five fines imposed.

Suspects thought to have fallen foul of 'intoxicating substances' came to the attentions of patrols 72 times - with just 12 instances where warnings were not heeded and one fixed penalty notice.

The second most worrying problem for officers was actually people riding bikes - this happened 250 times.

Other minor difficulties with skateboarders and scooter riders, and people playing loud music, barely registered while the order remained in place.

Now the public spaces order, ahead of it being reimposed for another three years, has been extensively reviewed.

Eighty-six per cent of those surveyed by Bolton Council cited begging as an ongoing problem.

Campaigners from the charity Liberty lodged a formal objection to the order being extended.

An official told council officers: "This prohibition is a blanket ban that is not supported by evidence and is not needed. The PSPO doesn’t define precisely the behaviour that is having the detriment effect on the community.

"Begging is the consequence of poverty and deprivation, not antisocial behaviour. A blanket ban could have a harmful, unreasonable and disproportionate effect on the most vulnerable people in the area."

Emily Brook, the council's assistant strategy director, said: "In Bolton, a high proportion of those individuals involved in begging activity seek to present themselves to the public as homeless or rough sleeping.

"It is important to be clear that not all of those people who are in a position to beg in Bolton are rough sleeping.

"In reality, from regular active review of the cohort of people known to be involved in begging activity in Bolton, consistently around 80 per cent are either not homeless or not rough sleeping.

"The majority are in relatively secure accommodation, with no current threat to loss of accommodation, with a further significant number in temporary supported accommodation settings.

"With a small number of exceptions, very few and on occasion none of those engaging in begging behaviour are actually rough sleeping at that time."

Councillors have been told there is also a co-ordinated response to homelesness in the borough, involving the borough, Urban Outreach, Homeless Aid UK and specialist nurses and aid workers, among others.

Last night Cllr Hilary Fairclough, deputy council leader, said: "Tackling anti-social behaviour is a key priority for the council.

“A public spaces protection order (PSPO) was introduced in Bolton Town Centre in 2019 in response to public concern of anti-social behaviour. The main areas of concern were aggressive begging and on street drinking and drug taking.

“While many people may associate street begging with homelessness, the reality is that in Bolton town centre, the majority of those who engage in begging activity have access to accommodation.

“We, along with our partner agencies, are committed to helping people who are vulnerable due to circumstances such as homelessness.

“We also work alongside outreach teams to identify those in need of support to overcome addiction and substance abuse issues.

“Our approach is always to engage first. Between April 2019 and August 2021, we engaged with more than 770 beggars to offer advice and support.

“The council and partners formed the Hope for Change initiative to ensure appropriate support is given to the genuinely vulnerable.”