An ‘aggressive’ beggar who assaulted a council worker has been jailed after repeatedly breaching an order.

George Wilson, 47, was sentenced to 27 weeks in prison after breaching a criminal behaviour order, which was issued in March 2020 after he was found guilty of assaulting a civic enforcement officer in Stockton town centre.  

The order meant he was not allowed to ask for money, donations or goods.

He first breached the CBO in late 2020 and was ordered to attend a nine-month drug rehabilitation programme.

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But Wilson, who has also been told to pay £620 in court costs after appearing before magistrates in Teesside, continued to defy the conditions of the CBO, and 14 separate incidents were reported to Cleveland Police by Stockton Borough Council.

This included being seen by the council’s CCTV control room begging in Stockton town centre, as well as verbally abusing an off-duty enforcement officer.

Councillor Norma Stephenson, Stockton’s cabinet member for access, communities and community safety, said: “When begging spills over into aggressive and intimidating behaviour then we take action – and that’s why we brought forward the CBO for Mr Wilson, who was unfortunately becoming prolific at targeting shoppers, visitors and people on a night out in Stockton town centre.

“Despite the support offered to Mr Wilson, such as the drug rehabilitation programme, he hasn’t changed his ways and we welcome the sentence handed to him.

“We appreciate that aggressive begging can be frightening for the public, and I would like to thank the Enforcement team who helped assist the Police to get this sentence secured.

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“Please do report any concerns you have to our Enforcement team, who can be reached on 01642 528439 or by emailing civic.enforcement@stockton.gov.uk.”

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