PLANS to introduce contactless donation points so residents can give to homeless charities will be discussed in the coming weeks.

Colchester Council has been working with police under the Safer Colchester Partnership to end aggressive begging in the town centre.

One idea which has been mooted in the past was to introduce contactless donation points around the town centre.

Money donated would then go directly to homeless or addiction charities, without being touched by the council.

Mike Lilley (Lab), councillor responsible for public safety, said the initiative has worked well in London.

He said: “I have community safety partnership officers who have created a paper to put to Cabinet.

“If councillors agree we hope to push that out. We haven’t spoken to charities so we need to set out exactly who the money is going to.

“Hopefully it will be discussed at a Cabinet meeting in the next two weeks.”

Labour group leader Tina Bourne said the council has proved an ability to secure thousands of pounds of Government funding to tackle rough sleeping and homelessness and this was the next step.

She said: “To combat aggressive begging we need to take some of the cash out of the system. This money should not in any way go to the council, we need to think of a mechanism where it will go directly to charities.

“We now need to encourage our kind residents to use the contactless system.”

Shadow councillor for public safety Lewis Barber (Con) supported the idea.

He said: “Colchester is a community of generous people, that is why we want to know the money we donate reaches those who need it the most. “Because of this, Colchester Conservatives support the introduction of fixed, contactless payment points at bus stops or outside the Town Hall.”