YOU are killing them with kindness.

That was the message yesterday as a new campaign against begging in Oxford’s streets was launched yesterday.

The city council wants to persuade people to support homelessness charities, rather than giving cash to beggars.

It comes after council and charity staff raised concerns that the money tourists, students and shoppers gave to beggars was often spent on drink and drugs.

A spot check last month found 19 beggars in the city centre and the Cowley Road area, in the space of four hours. Council officers say the beggars can make £20 to £30 per day in the city.

In a message to shoppers, the council’s executive member for housing, Scott Seamons, said: “Giving money to people begging is not always beneficial to them and I would encourage you to divert your kindness to the charities that support the beggars.”

And the city-wide campaign, which will continue until Christmas, has already won the backing of Thames Valley Police and organisations which help the homeless, including Broadway, Oxford Homeless Pathway, the Porch Steppin’ Stone Centre, Two Saints, Big Issue and Oxpat.

Joe Batty, from Broadway, said Oxford was not the worst UK city for begging, but still had a huge problem.

He said: “Begging in and around Oxford is rife. It’s built on misplaced goodwill of students and tourists.

“It’s Broadway’s opinion that begging fuels serious substance misuse issues and has little to do with homelessness. Begging is not a benign activity. It decimates the lives of those involved, fuels a drug trade and ruins Oxford’s international reputation.”

Nigel Northcott, project manager at the Porch Steppin’ Stone Centre, in East Oxford, said: “We need to give the homeless and people begging hope and a future.

“Most of the cash given in the street goes on drugs or alcohol. Giving to one of the charities for the less well-off will make a real difference.”

“Giving money directly to beggars is no better than giving to drug dealers – for that’s where most of the money goes – give to a local charity to make a real difference.

“Giving food and or money to beggars reinforces that lifestyle. Help to break the cycle of poverty and give to a charity that gives the less well off hope for a better future.”

Joanna Brealey, 33, originally from London, has been homeless in Oxford for six months. She said: “I don’t agree with it at all. People beg because, like me, they have to pay for a night shelter. “Begging isn’t a crime. If people say ‘no’, they say ‘no’ and you leave it. “It’s better than running into a shop stealing, which is what this is going to cause. “I’ve done it, and I got arrested for it. I went to prison for three weeks and I don’t want to go back.” Big Issue regional sales director Julia Bravo said: “We believe in a ‘hand up, not a hand-out’, and recognise that earning an income is often only the first step on a person’s journey away from homelessness.

“Vendors buy the Big Issue magazine for £1.25 and sell it to the public for £2.50. They’re working, not begging.”