The professional Southall beggars may be “down on their luck”.

"Your continued lack of empathy for people begging on the street astounds me on your twitter profile & the hate against them you spread, do you think people choose to have to beg, or do you think they might be down on their luck?"

The people of Southall are sick and tired of professional beggars brought in by organised criminals.

Who would put up with 6 beggars on ¼ mile long road begging all day, 7 days a week? One arrested last week had £200 on her.

This has been going on for at least a decade. The locals know the facts and do not give much. The visitors give with open hearts – the reason we can’t get rid of the beggars.

With professional beggars run by organised crime – feeding organised crime, there are 2 bad outcomes for real beggars:

• Real (down on their luck) beggars are being robbed by these thieves. They are the REAL recipients, not organised crime
• Real (down on their luck ) beggars are treated with MORE suspicion

The council and Police are more than happy to refer these people to get the appropriate help.

These are NOT the “can you spare some change” please beggars. These come up to you and with professional begging face, clothing and looks to fool you in providing them with luxuries.

"Need some money? Help me unload this stuff for 15 minutes and I will give you £20."

"No thanks" was the reply, because professional begging is easier and more rewarding.

The people of Southall are generous. If they were not, then these professionals would not be here. The people of Southall want real (down on their luck) beggars to be helped to get on their feet by official charities etc. and would be happy to give to occasional begging.

These beggars are also accompanied by 3 to 4 fake/dangerous perfume sellers. They all know each and speak the same lingo. They are all out of town and move from town to town. Not beggars but professional organised criminals.

After decades of this happening, the residents of Southall can tell the difference. They can spot a professional beggar a mile off.

We want donations on Southall Broadway to go to “down on their luck” people NOT organised crime. The real “down on their luck” individual suffer MORE due to the actions of these professional beggars.

Spare a thought; show some empathy for the local residents and businesses – who are sick and tired of this happening all the time.

Why are only women begging unless the person is disabled?
Why are they dressed like Muslims/Asians?
Why is the spot outside the mosque a good begging spot?

The prime targets of these professional beggars are naïve Muslims shoppers coming to Southall.