A 50-YEAR-OLD man who ignored two warnings was arrested after being found begging in Blackburn town centre for the third time in less than an hour.
Blackburn magistrates heard Mark Coughlan was moved on from King William Street and warned he was committing an offence but was seen by the same officer begging in Market Street.
He was warned again but the officer ran out of patience when he found Coughlan begging in Railway Road 15 minutes later.
Coughlan, of Canterbury Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to begging in a public place. He was given a conditional discharge for six months and ordered to pay £20 victim surcharge.
When he was asked by the chairman why he had carried on after two warnings, Coughlan said: "Because I had nothing to eat."
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