in Hamilton to crack down on street beggars.

A petition with more than 700 names was presented to Mayor William Frith yesterday in an attempt to "underline the importance that the people of Bermuda attach to this very serious issue''.

Mr. Frith said he would be passing the document on to Commissioner of Police Jean-Jacques Lemay in the hope that the issue would find its way into the parliamentary arena.

Petition organiser Charles Spanswick said he began collecting names for the petition last summer due to worries that pedestrians, in particular tourists, women and senior citizens, were being victimised by beggars and persons of no fixed abode congregating in certain areas of Hamilton.

Teddy Chapman, who presented the petition to Mr. Frith on behalf of Opposition MP Michael Dunkley, described how recently he had helped out two women who "who were being rammed against the wall'' by one man begging for money.

"It's time something is done about this,'' he said. "The number of Police officers actually walking the streets of Hamilton is nil and at the moment I feel like a child because I get excited if I see one.''