Aggressive beggars have been served notices warning they could face jail if they carry on pestering people around Oxford city centre.

Pc Paul Phillips in Cornmarket Street on the lookout for persistent beggars

The move -- the first of its kind in Oxford -- is part of a crackdown on four persistent beggars who have repeatedly refused help.

Jo Broadway, who regularly begs near cash machines in George Street and Cornmarket Street, Garreth Turp, who begs on most city centre streets, Nicholas Tubb and Shay Monroe, who both beg around St Giles, have been told if they are caught again, they could face jail.

Nicholas Tubb was the only one to be seen in the city centre yesterday. He denied being aggressive or a nuisance to passers-by.

He said: "I can't see why police are saying I'm aggressively begging when I'm just sat reading my book.

"Occasionally, I put my hat out. I'm not going up to people. But if they want to give me money, I won't turn them down. That's not being aggressive."

The city council co-ordinates homelessness workers and the county council is the highways authority responsible for issuing the notices. Both they and the police say the bans are a last resort.

Despite offers of help with education, drug rehabilitation, accommodation and dealing with domestic violence, the four have continued to prey on the kindness of Oxford residents.

In 2001, the Government targeted Oxford for funding after it was found to have the highest number of rough sleepers, beggars and street drinkers outside London.

Begging is a crime under section three of the Vagrancy Act 1824, but it gives courts only limited powers and has proved ineffectual.

By serving notices, which can then be used to take out injunctions against offenders, judges can do more to deter aggressive beggars, including jailing them for up to six months.

Liaison officer for the homeless Pc Paul Phillips, who served the notices, admitted he was initially concerned that notices banning offenders from specific streets would simply move them to other parts of Oxford. But now he says those fears have been allayed and injunctions would allow tougher sentences.

He said: "I've discussed dispersal with all the homelessness workers. If these people end up somewhere else like Cowley Road, we will hear about it and take action. There's no reason at all for anyone to be begging on the streets of Oxford with the amount of services available. Whether it's help with education, homelessness, drugs, domestic violence, anything, help exists."

Pc Phillips said all four beggars had accepted the notices without protest.

He said: "I expect it was no surprise. At the end of the day, the only way to resolve this is to offer longer-term solutions.

"But we are now down to the hard-core and the only way of dealing with them is through injunctions."

Steve Crocker, acting head of community safety for Oxfordshire County Council, said enforcement was now down to police and it remained to be seen if the notices would work.

He said: "We're always keen to try new things. But we know there's some good evidence in other cities like Nottingham and Bristol of it working."

The city council's street homelessness co-ordinator John Adcock said the tougher action would create a better environment for all in Oxford.

He said: "When you have vulnerable old people, or mothers with children feeling intimidated when they just want to get money from a cash machine, begging is not acceptable behaviour."

The number of rough sleepers on the city centre streets has risen over the summer, to 15 from 11 in June.