'Beggars' commute by satnav to city, feed parking meter and then get down to work
A GANG of beggars have been exposed as frauds after they were pictured driving to the outskirts of a city and parking up before settling down for a day pleading poverty and benefiting from the generosity of passers-by.
Cambridge beggars drive into the city before getting down to work
One of the beggars carries a child’s crutch, suggesting he his struggling with a disability.
Kind-hearted locals handing over their loose change have no idea the group travels by car to Cambridge, feeds a parking meter with eight hours’ worth of coins and then walks a mile to the site of their begging.
They arrived in a Volkswagen Passat estate on Saturday morning and parked up before walking together to the outskirts of the city’s busy shopping areas before separating to avoid working the same pavements.
Moment an 'old beggar' is exposed as a young woman
One of the Cambridge beggars who commutes daily
The driver parked a sat-nav equipped left-hand drive car – with Romanian licence plates - in a residential road after paying for the maximum eight-hour stay from 9am to 5pm.
When asked if he was homeless, the driver of the car claimed he was Italian and said he did not speak English.
He confirmed he had driven into the city that day but insisted his disability did not prevent him from using a car or walking to the shopping centre.
Locals were shocked and angry that the trio had been feigning homelessness but said that they were known to operate regularly in the city.
The Cambridge beggars target shoppers in the city centre
They look to target the students who have some spare change and don’t want the hassle of turning them down
Lisa Jay, 65, a volunteer with the British Red Cross, told the Daily Mail: “I have seen the man with the stick try his luck with myself and others as they walk into the bank. I have previously told him as I walked into the supermarket, ‘I have no change’.
“After I left with my shopping, he was confrontational and spoke in English.
“They look to target the students who have some spare change and don’t want the hassle of turning them down. They bark at the kids – it’s easy prey to them.”
While it is unclear whether the man was disabled in this instance, locals have queried the matter.
A neighbour living close to where the beggars parked their car added that they were so successful that on most days the car could be seen parked in the same spot as its owners worked the streets.
Locals were angered when they found out about the beggars
Asma Begum, 34, said: “I saw the group getting out of their car earlier this week, most days in fact.
"When I have seen them, it appeared odd that the man with the disability walked using a child’s crutch.
“I had never thought that they were homeless, as I had seen them get out of the car and wait around before walking off. It’s not like there’s any bus routes on the road to wait for.
“If you had a child’s crutch I do not see how you could walk that far into town.”