A TEENAGER arrested at the weekend for begging had been locked out of his lodgings and had no money, a court heard yesterday.

Magistrates at Harrogate were told Shane Varela, 18, had been seen by police, who were monitoring the town's closed-circuit television cameras, sitting in John Street wrapped in a blanket at 8pm on Saturday.

''Passers-by were throwing money towards him,'' said Robert Moore, prosecuting.

He said Varela had been formally warned for begging in November and earlier this month had been arrested and bailed to a begging referral scheme administered by the Harrogate Alcohol and Drugs Agency.

Varela, a kitchen worker, admitted begging.

His solicitor, David Camidge, said he had been made subject to a drug treatment and testing order by the magistrates last week for unrelated matters.

Mr Camidge said Varela had been given a bed at the home of a friend in Chatsworth Place, Harrogate, but he had found himself locked out on Saturday night with a blanket and little else.

''He tells me he didn't ask anybody for anything, but various people gave him cigarettes and one handed over 50p. He was sitting there looking a fairly forlorn figure and the charity came to him rather than him asking for it,'' said Mr Camidge.

Court chairman David Davies sentenced Varela to two days in custody. But because of the time he had spent on remand, he was released straight away.