Six weeks after the Brighton Evening Argus launched its Don’t Give to Beggars campaign, it has seen the theme taken up across the UK.

Government ministers have now launched the national Change A Life campaign to urge people to give to charities instead of handing out money on the streets.

The Argus launched its campaign after police research showed that at least a third of Brighton beggars admitted to spending the money they collected on the streets on heroin.

New research to back up the Government’s national campaign has shown that almost 90 per cent of beggars have drug or alcohol problems.

Back in Brighton, transport chiefs have backed the Argus campaign and they are urging commuters not to give money to people asking for handouts on station concourses.

Police have reported a “dramatic” fall in the number of beggars on the streets in the six weeks the Argus campaign has been running.

The campaign is also backed by the local homeless charity St Patrick’s Trust which says the most effective way of helping the homeless is to give to local charities.

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