'Beggar' who sat outside Natwest bank with a 'hungry and homeless' sign raked in £300 A DAY while living in a £300,000 flat

A 'beggar' who claimed he was homeless and hungry for years was earning £50,000-plus a year and living it up in a £300,000 flat, a court heard.

Simon Wright, 37, sat outside a NatWest bank in his tatty clothes with his sleeping bag, his dog, and a hand-written sign telling of his plight.

Generous passers-by took pity on him and regularly gave him £200 to £300 a day. After 'work' he went home to his smart council flat, in Fulham, west London.

The homeless man... with a home: Simon Wright (left) has been given an Asbo after it emerged he had been begging for years despite living in a plush £300,000 flat in this block (right) in Fulham

Police say he regularly went into a local bookmakers to change up his loose coins. On many occasions they added up to between £200 and £300.

Magistrates have now imposed a two-year ASBO banning him from begging anywhere in London, or from entering the SW15 postal area, where he regularly passers-by for cash.

PC Oliver Strebel, who was the officer in the case, said: 'He had a reputation for getting a lot of gifts while begging.