EMMA?WEBB, of Inverteign Drive, Teignmouth, writes:

After yet another high profile report in the Teignmouth Post (Town plagued by beggars 15/6/2018) I felt compelled to write my first-ever letter to a newspaper.

The latest article appears to me to be a continuation of a campaign by the police and council, enabled by your newspaper, to encourage the citizens of Teignmouth to vilify and turn against a vulnerable group who are an easy target.

The tone and language of the article was in a word ­– nasty.

The opening gambit that ‘beggars can make up to £500 a day’ is a wild and highly improbable scenario in Teignmouth and is followed by the comment that these individuals are a ‘plague on the town’.

They have ‘vicious’ dogs that they cynically use, not for companionship or warmth but to make more money and the council are also advocating having troublesome dogs destroyed.

Just in case we are in any doubt, the article uses the word ‘beggar’ five times to emphasise their status.

The piece and Sgt Ross then seamlessly go on to report on serious and violent crime in the town, including the recent murder, appearing to be a further reinforcement of the moral panic we should all feel about the aforementioned ‘beggars’ visible on our streets.

It would have been more responsible to mention what percentage of these crimes involve the individuals the police are so anxious for us to show ‘tough love’ but presumably this may not have the impact intended.

Homelessness is on the increase across Britain. In every village, town and city there are families breaking up, people becoming mentally unwell, falling from sobriety, losing their jobs, falling foul of the benefits labyrinth.

Homelessness and begging are often the result of these life events and are an uncomfortable visual reminder to us how things can go wrong.

We need as a town to decide how we respond to these challenges. I hope it will not be a response reflected in this callous and Trump-like attitude reflected in this article.