Police are urging locals to report incidents of aggressive begging in a bid to deal with the issue in Lowestoft.

Officers are keen to hear from anyone who may have been approached recently and are also asking shoppers to call in, if they are approached in the future.

The appeal comes after officers discovered a number of people using a social media site to say they had been approached, but that most had not reported the matter to police.

Carl Horth, 26, of Denmark Road, appeared at Lowestoft magistrates court on Monday (January 20), charged with persistent begging in a public place and was given a £40 fine, a £20 victim surcharge and one day in custody, deemed to have already been served.

This follows an earlier court appearance, at Ipswich Magistrates Court, on Saturday (January 18) where he was sentenced to a day in the cells and ordered to pay a £200 fine and a £20 victim surcharge.

Officers are working to deal with aggressive beggars in the town and are calling for all incidents to be reported to Lowestoft police on 101.