AN aggressive beggar who preyed on a young boy with autism, harassed a young woman and smashed a bottle over a man's head has been slammed behind bars.

Richard Lewis, 37, of no fixed address, has been jailed for ten months after breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) imposed by Southend Magistrates’ Court.

The order, handed out on April 5, followed reports Lewis had been aggressively begging and escorting people to cash points to ensure they withdrew money for him.

Under the terms of the order, Lewis was strictly prohibited from swearing, intimidating or abusing people in public.

Echo: Jailed - Aggressive beggar Richard Lewis, 37, of no fixed address, has been jailed for ten months after breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO)Jailed - Aggressive beggar Richard Lewis, 37, of no fixed address, has been jailed for ten months after breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) (Image: Essex Police)
He was also instructed to not approach people to receive goods/money within the City of Southend, not sit on the ground outside any shop and not beg in a public place.

Lewis was also prohibited from entering the Pennine, Chiltern, Malvern, Quantock, Blackdown, Brecon, Grampian and Barringtons tower blocks.

Despite the restrictions being in place, on April 7, he approached a vulnerable teenage boy, who has autism, in Southend.

He asked the boy for money and, when he refused, Lewis resorted to intimidation.

After accosting the boy for ten minutes, Lewis escorted him to a cash machine and waited while the boy withdrew and handed over an amount of cash.

Then, on April 13, a woman outside Southend railway station was approached by Lewis who intimidated and pestered her for money in breach of the CBO.

On the same day, Lewis threatened a member of staff at a shop in London Road, Southend before attended Barrington Flats - a direct breach of the CBO - on April 16.

A day later he was witnessed on CCTV assaulting a man by smashing a glass bottle over his head.

Lewis was arrested later that day by police before admitting seven breaches of a CBO, three public order offences and possession of an offensive weapon when he appeared at Southend Magistrates’ Court on Friday.

He was sentenced to ten months in prison and ordered to pay £100 in compensation to the teenage boy.

PC Lois Greenlees, of Southend Town Centre Team, said:

“Lewis preyed almost exclusively on the vulnerable – in the case of these breaches a young female and a young boy with autism.

“He caused great concern in the community and I know all too well how unsettling this behaviour had proved to be for law-abiding members of the public.

“This is precisely why we worked hard to secure a CBO, as breaches of this order will be treated seriously and provide us with a vital tool to prevent or deter further offending.

“Where people committed to behaving in an anti-social manner are made the subject of a CBO, breaches can and will be met with a prison sentence.

“Lewis has proven time and time again he will not cease this disruptive and intimidating behaviour and will now rightly spend a term behind bars.”