The 41-year-old man appeared at Bradford Magistrates' Court on Wednesday and has been remanded until October 6.

His arrest was part of a crackdown on begging in Bradford city centre by police.

Inspector Kevin Pickles said: "By remanding this man in custody for a month and a half, we're showing other beggars that they will be dealt with.

"For the past six weeks my team has been running an operation targeting the issue of begging and looking at specific individuals. This is an ongoing operation and this is the first of what I hope will be many beggars taken off the streets of Bradford.

"We're not just dealing with enforcement but also looking at how we can help people who have had to resort to begging – whether that is through rehousing, help getting benefits they're entitled to or help with education – we can pass them on to the relevant person.

"I hope that in a relatively short amount of time, we'll be able to get on top of this issue resulting in fewer beggars in the city centre."