One person was deported as a result of a crackdown on begging in Carlisle city centre.

Street audits – undertaken by officers from Carlisle City Council's homeless prevention and accommodation services and Cumbria police – began in March last year and since then two people have also been arrested.

Another person was handed over to immigration authorities and subsequently deported.

Meanwhile a further two were offered housing advice and assistance while four people were given verbal warnings.

However, the last audit, carried out in March this year, identified no individuals who were either begging or sleeping rough in the city.

The information will be presented to members of the council's community overview and scrutiny panel at a meeting on June 1.

It comes after the council said that a revised Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) was currently undergoing consultation.

If brought into effect, it would include restricting the feeding of birds in urban areas, banning begging, and prohibiting urinating, defecating and spitting in any public place.

A report, which will be provided to members of the overview and scrutiny panel, says: “From September 2015 it was noted that there was an escalating issue with individuals begging within the city centre who had been assessed as not homeless.

“Homeless service managers have been working with officers from Cumbria police since October 2015 to agree, outline and monitor the effectiveness of joined up approaches to address this.

“These issues have also been discussed with key stakeholders to monitor, report and advise individuals who are known to their services to seek appropriate help should this be required.”

With regards to sleeping rough, the report adds: “On 18 November 2016, Carlisle City Council homeless services undertook an official rough sleeper count throughout the hours of 12.30am and 4am with an independent verifier from Homeless Link.

“55 locations were searched by five teams (based on intelligence gained through consultation with key stakeholders); one person was located, recorded and reported as rough sleeping – this person was known to us and refused any assistance.

“The police were notified both in terms of this individual's welfare and as a public safety measure.”