A FAKE beggar who pretended to be homeless while living in a nearby flat has been locked up for repeatedly harassing the public.
Matthew MacNamara was often seen sitting under a sleeping bag and swigging from a bottle of Lambrini in Hull’s city centre.
Police called the 43-year-old a “thorn in the side” who “preyed on the sympathy” of residents.
He was often seen being drunk, aggressive and threatening towards the public.
He previously claimed to drink up to 20 bottles of Lambrini a day and once sold the drug Spice, which he called “cheap as chips”.
McNamara allegedly told the public not to buy him food, but instead give him money to spend on booze.
In November, he was banned from begging in every single Hull street under a criminal behaviour order (CBO).
The two-year order was meant to prevent him from public drinking and harassing the public for money or drink.
But he continued to pretend to be homeless and aggressively beg for money, breaching the conditions of the CBO.
McNamara was arrested on May 14 and has been given a 24-week jail sentence.
PC Darren Kirkwood said: “This man was not homeless. He’d been living in a flat and coming out onto the streets, covering himself in a blanket or sleeping bag and pretending he was homeless to get money.
“Not only was he preying on the sympathies of the public, but he was being aggressive and threatening while he was ‘begging’. He was often drunk at the same time.”
PC Kirkwood added: “Matthew MacNamara had been a thorn in the side of people in the Holderness Road area and we had a lot of reports and complaints about him.
“We acted on that information and he was warned and given a chance to change his ways with a CBO. He ignored it and has ended up in prison.”
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