NO one should ever be made to fee threatened or harassed by beggars, but Sussex Police's tactic of using undercover officers to deliberately try to catch homeless people in the act of desperately struggling to survive will be seen by many as heavy handed.

Most of these people are not aggressive beggars, they are not threatening the public or using malice, simply asking if people can spare any change.

No one should be forced to put their hand in their pocket to help a rough sleeper - and in some cases perhaps it is not the best way to help them - but should we slap them in handcuffs and haul them into the dock for asking?

Homelessness is an enormous issue facing Brighton and Hove at the moment, but criminalising the most deprived people in society seems not only petty, but pointless.

Homeless people slapped with huge fines freely admit they will walk straight from the magistrates' court steps back to the city's streets with their caps back in their hands to beg once more.

Not only that but the cost to our already dwindling public resources is enormous.

Surreptitiously tricking rough sleepers into asking for money is costing the judicial system thousands.

More than sixty people were arrested for begging in Brighton and Hove last year - the costs of those arrested could have made a real difference to the lives of homeless people.

The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens - so should we be punishing those unlucky enough to be forced to beg to survive?

At a time when rough sleepers are dying on our streets, we should collectively be doing more to give those at the very bottom of our society a hand up.