Shoppers on a quiet residential street have been left terrified after a concerning rise in aggressive begging.
Residents living in Sherwood and Carrington have complained that intimidating beggars are forcing them to avoid the area entirely.
A dispersal order was put in place on Mansfield Road after "repeated issues" with begging and drug-related shop lifting.
However, despite the action of Nottinghamshire Police, shoppers fear the police's efforts will fail to address the problem on Sherwood and Carrington's busiest streets.
Shoppers have complained about the beggars (file pic)
Getty/Google Maps
Mellissa Dooley, who has lived in the area her whole life, told NottinghamshireLive: "Some of them are aggressive and very full-on. I used to work with the homeless, and I know where the money is going.
"I'll buy them things from the shop, but I don't want to give them money. It stops me from going to the shops. When I see them there, I think 'Oh, god'. Some of them, not all, pick on vulnerable people especially, it does make you avoid the shops they post outside of."
Charles Wollacott, 75, from Sherwood, added: "What concerns me is that they sit outside the Co-op. I don't want to be judgmental, but some of them are very aggressive in their tactics.
"Sometimes they say that they need this much money for a place to stay, and they demand a certain amount of money, but I can't tell how true that is. It does concern me, A that they are on the streets and B that they are wasting the money."
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The Beggars have been targeting the area outside the Coop
Google Maps
Framework, a charity which supports homeless people and those who are at risk of being homeless in the areas, said it was aware of the problem along Mansfield Road - but said not all beggars were sleeping rough.
A spokesman said: "In our experience it can be a very small number of people causing particular difficulties.
"We find there is a popular misconception that anyone who is begging is homeless. This is not the case...We do not condone begging but we recognise it is a symptom of some real unmet need."
Mahmoud Gharavi, owner of Sherwood Mobile Repair Centre on Mansfield Road, also told NottinghamshireLive: "I have seen quite a few instances of shoplifting but the police aren't doing much for us, we have had people caught on camera trying to steal phones and the police didn't care."
Inspector Paul Ferguson, who authorised the order and is responsible for neighbourhood policing in Sherwood and Carrington, said: “Aggressive begging is a particular unpleasant form of antisocial behaviour, which isn’t acceptable, with our neighbourhood policing teams doing a lot of work to try and address this issue.
"Because we know how much this type of offending, as well as shoplifting and drug activity, impacts people’s quality of life in our communities, we will continue to focus on these areas as a policing team."
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