A ‘disgusting’ sign telling people to not give money to the homeless in case they spend it on drugs will be removed.

Referring to vulnerable people as ‘beggars’, the sign in Manchester city centre suggests they will use cash for ‘a fix’.

The sign reads: ‘Dinner or drugs?’ followed by: ‘Would you give a beggar a pound for a fix? Give to the box not to the beggar.’

Beneath the sign is a metal box with a small gap for money to be slotted inside.

It is not known who put the sign on the wall, or how long it has been under the arches on Great Northern Square.

But Manchester City Council has confirmed it is a ‘very old sign’ which they ‘do not endorse’.

Harry Jones shared a picture of the sign on Twitter and wrote: ‘This is f** disgusting?’

It was met with a flurry of furious comments. ‘This is f***ing gross and so suss that there’s no indication what charity or whatever the money in the box goes to,’ one person wrote.

Another simply put: ‘This is a disgrace.’

Responding to Mr Jones, a council spokesperson said: ‘Thanks for bringing this to our attention. This is a very old sign and we definitely do not endorse this message, and we’ll be getting it removed ASAP.’

How you can help actually homeless people

If you’re in England or Wales, the best thing to do if you see someone who is sleeping rough is contact Streetlink.

This sends an alert to a local outreach service – such as your Local Authority or a homeless charity, like St Mungo’s.

They will then be able to locate the person sleeping rough to make sure they know about the support available to them.

You’ll need to provide the exact location of the person you’re worried about by describing the area, as well as pinpointing it on a map – plus what time of day you saw or interacted with them.

Provide a description of their appearance, name, age (if possible) and other identifying characteristics – to help the outreach service identify them.

If you need to make contact now, send your Streetlink alert via their website. Or call 0300 500 0914.

This advice only applies to adults. If the person appears to be under 18, you should contact the police instead.

Call 999 in an emergency if you believe someone needs immediate medical attention.

Finally, you can contact your local council to make a report or ensure someone you’ve spotted locally is getting support. Find the best contact number or email address on gov.uk.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

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