A man banned from begging anywhere in London after it emerged he was earning £50,000 a year and living in a £300,000 flat has been arrested - after allegedly begging again.
Simon Wright, 37, was handed an Asbo after magistrates heard how he would sit wearing ragged clothes outside NatWest bank in Putney High Street with a hand-written “homeless and hungry” sign before returning to his smart housing association home in Fulham.
But at around 6.10pm last night he was picked up by police after allegedly being spotted pestering commuters for spare change near Putney Bridge Tube station.
Before he was taken away, Mr Wright told the Standard: “I have about £2,000 in debt so I’m just trying to survive basically. The police said I am aggressive to everyone, but people say I’m the most polite beggar.
“I’m probably the only beggar I know who doesn’t sit with a can of Special Brew.”
Locals claimed Mr Wright worked almost every day and had done so for about three years.
One said: “He’d do a 10am to 5pm or 6pm day, often later at weekends. He certainly put in the hours. If you reckon on £200 a day, then just based on a five-day week that would be £52,000, presumably tax-free.”
Mr Wright, who claims he is set to lose his Fulham property, is now facing a five-year prison sentence or an unlimited fine after allegedly breaching his Asbo.
Hannah Artus, 26, from Fulham, said she had given him about £10 over a year in a walkway leading to Putney Bridge station.
The 26-year-old, who works in PR, said: “I feel duped and annoyed, but also a bit embarrassed. He’s there every single morning and evening.
“I thought if he was there that religiously he must really need help – I felt really guilty every time I walked past him and didn’t give him any money. He has just totally taken advantage of everyone’s good nature.”
Charlotte Mace, 26, from Fulham, who works in publishing, had given him £5, said: “I feel conned because there are so many people that sleep rough in London who actually need it.
“I genuinely thought he was in need, otherwise I would have just given money to a homeless shelter or charity.”
Last month Wimbledon magistrates imposed the Asbo banning him from begging anywhere in London for two years. It also prevented him from entering Putney and Roehampton where he was often spotted plying his trade.
It warned him that breaching the Asbo would result in a five-year prison sentence or an unlimited fine.
The court also ordered him to keep his dog muzzled and under control at all times in a public place after magistrates were told it had bitten at least one person.
PC Oliver Strebel, the officer in the case, said: “He had a reputation for getting a lot of gifts while begging.
“He used a sign saying he was homeless and people gave him money on that basis, which is clearly fraud. He would take the money from his cup and change it over at a local betting shop.
“He worked pretty much every day, and had done so for about three years. He’d do a 10am to 5pm or 6pm day, often later at weekends. He certainly put in the hours.”
Wandsworth council’s community safety spokesman Cllr Jonathan Cook said: “His behaviour was an absolute disgrace. The fact that he was actually living in a comfortable flat in Fulham, something that many of his victims can only dream of, just adds insult to injury.”
published in 2013
