In 1883 William and Jane Bradley were sentenced to 14 days imprisonment for begging in Castle Bromwich. The 1824 Vagrancy Act made it an offense to sleep rough or beg.
It remains in force in England and Wales, and anyone found to be sleeping in a public place or to be trying to beg for money can be arrested.
Contemporary critics, including William Wilberforce, condemned the Act for being a catch-all offence because it did not consider the circumstances as to why an individual might be placed in such a predicament.
