A former homeless man has called beggars on the streets of Congleton “the lowest of the low”.
Nick Flood, (51), who lives in Congleton, said that a group of people alternated between Congleton and Macclesfield town centres claiming to be homeless – but had been seen being picked up in an expensive car.
A charity backed up his concerns, saying that “we know there are people who aren’t homeless who are preying on others”.
Mr Flood told the “Chronicle” he had been able to turn his life around after being homeless for five months following a marriage breakdown.
“It’s one of the reasons why this infuriates me so much,” he said, “I know how hard it is for the people who are going through genuine homelessness.”
He claimed one of the regular locations where the beggars sat was Victoria Street, just along from the steps leading down to Congleton Market.
Mr Flood, who is training to be a counsellor, said: “When I approached the guy the other day he just sat there laughing. It’s ridiculous but no-one seems to want to do anything about it.”
He said he had seen the beggars in Congleton ad Macclesfield using the same piece of cardboard with a message saying: “I’m homeless, please help, God bless.”
Added Mr Flood: “I’ve noticed the same people on the high street in Macclesfield. I even seen them in Café Nero in the morning. There’s one guy and one girl and a new guy, so there must be at least three that I’ve seen.
“They seem to alternate between Congleton and Macclesfield, one guy here and one girl there and vice versa.”
Bogus
Explaining why he believed they were bogus, Mr Flood said: “Because I’ve had that experience. I know that if you were in that position, what avenues you would seek to get out. I’ve asked them who they’ve been working with and what contacts they’ve got. But they just pretend that they can’t speak English – just stuff that you wouldn’t do if you were in that situation.
“I’ve asked them who have they spoken to and where but none of them could tell me anything.”
Of the purported scam, he said: “It’s stopping the public helping genuine people who might want a brew or a sandwich. It’s just exploiting people’s generosity, especially at this time of year as people are more likely to stop and give them something. It is also exploiting old people who don’t know any different.”
Mr Flood previously worked for Macclesfield charity Streetwise and before that helped out at Salford Cathedral giving out sandwiches and soup to the homeless.
He continued: “None of them are visibly sleeping rough; you can tell they’re not. I heard reports from other people I’ve spoken to in the street that they’re being picked up at the end of the day.”
He said: “The council has been speaking to them, moving them on and then they just come back here. The council’s only option is to speak to the police.”
Mr Flood said the scam was happening all over the country. “It’s just so blatant and it’s getting ridiculous.
“From what I understand it’s organised and they all report to whoever is coordinating it. I don’t know where they are from but obviously the money is not going to them. It’s going to someone else but I don’t know who that is.”
Mr Flood said those in Congleton and Macclesfield “appear to be from overseas”.
He said: “I am not racist and I don’t care where anyone is from, I’m not like that, but they are all, I’d say, eastern European, Armenian or Romanian.”
He said their English “isn’t very good but it is when it needs to be”, adding: “If it’s an insult to tell you to go away then yes; if it’s questions about the council, then no.”
He said he had spoken to the council three times about it, adding: “They told me the option was to contact the police via 101 but I could be waiting for ever with that.”
Streets
Mr Flood spent time living on the streets of Macclesfield and in Staffordshire.
“It was pretty grim to say the least,” he recalled.
“Some people would help and some wouldn’t. I was robbed twice and assaulted once.”
Charity Streetwise collects quality furniture and household items to recycle into the community and runs a foodbank that is open twice a week.
Maggie Falconer, who founded the charity 10 years ago, said: “Unfortunately I would agree with Nick that – in Macclesfield at least – we know there are people who aren’t homeless who are preying on others. They say that they’re homeless but they don’t want food or drink – what they are after is your money.
“We had one instance where a female was followed back to a car park by one of them. They offered to carry her shopping before giving a sob story and asked for £30.”
Mrs Falconer added: “There are shopkeepers who see these people at the end of the day being picked up in a swish car.
“If people are genuinely in need on the streets, they will ask for food or drink. A red flag is when they don’t want that support and just want money.”
She said that genuine homeless people were reported to the council, which would check on them and offer support if they were in need. If not they can be moved on.
Cheshire East Council and Cheshire Police were asked to comment.
(Photo: Nick Flood).
