Transport bosses say people found repeatedly begging at Manchester Piccadilly station will be banned.

British Transport Police (BTP) say anyone caught ‘begging or loitering’ at the transport hub will be removed and repeat offenders will be barred.

If the banning notices, enforced by BTP, are breached then the offender will be liable for arrest.

The move comes after rail users and staff raised concerns about ‘nuisance beggars and vagrants’.

The comments come after one commuter claimed he was ‘pounced on’ by three ‘aggressive beggars’ as he tried to leave the station earlier this week.

The man, who asked not to be named, said he had just stepped off a train from Leeds when he was approached three times by three separate ‘beggars’ within minutes.

He said: “Within seconds of getting off the train I was pounced upon by three aggressive beggars. Each of these individuals confronted me very closely. One male swore at me, and at anyone who passed him by or refused to give him money.

“It’s all part of the same problem. It’s about time the authorities bucked up their ideas and did something about it.

“It’s rare to see a BTP officer around on the concourse to deal with it so people will think they can get away with it.”

A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “We are aware of an issue with begging at Manchester Piccadilly station. We continue to work with Network Rail to look at ways of tackling the issue.

"High visibility patrols operate at the station throughout the day and night and we will pro-actively remove anyone seen begging or loitering at the station.

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“Repeat offenders are served with a notice of withdrawal of implied permission issued by the station managers, in this case Network Rail, which bans that person from the station.

"The notices are enforced by British Transport Police; if they are breached then the person will be liable for arrest.

“We know that rail users and staff are concerned about nuisance beggars and vagrants - begging is an offence and we take the concerns of rail users extremely seriously.”