Clear beggars from the streets ahead of U.K. royal wedding, says local politician

Police need to clear beggars from the streets of Windsor before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle because their "detritus" is presenting the picturesque English town in a poor light, the local council leader says.

Queen Elizabeth's grandson Harry and his American fianceplan to tie the knot at Windsor Castle, the monarch's palace tothe west of London, in May with thousands of visitors expectedto visit the town to celebrate the occasion.

Simon Dudley, leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead council, wrote on Twitter there had been an "epidemic of rough sleeping and vagrancy" in the town, and said he wanted police "to focus on dealing with this before the #RoyalWedding."

"This is creating a concerning and hostile atmosphere forour residents and the seven million tourists who come to Windsoreach year," he wrote in a letter to local police and crime commissioner Anthony Stansfield.

"It is becoming increasingly concerning to see thequantities of bags and detritus that those begging are accumulating and leaving on our pavements, at times unattended,thus presenting a security risk."

• Read CBC's complete coverage of the royal wedding

Windsor, the oldest inhabited castle in the world that hasbeen a home of British monarchs for almost 1,000 years, attracts1.3 million visitors every year, while many also visit the townto watch the regular changing the guardceremony with soldiersin scarlet tunics and bearskin hats parading with an army band.

'Asadly unfavourable light'

Dudley said the council had invested heavily in supportservices to help those in need with shelters and emergency accommodation for rough sleepers, added there was evidence thatmany of those begging were nothomeless.

"Obviously, the level of tourist interest is set to multiplywith the Royal Wedding in May 2018, and there are increased concerns from our residents about their safety," he wrote,calling for the police to invoke powers such as the 1824 Vagrancy Act to clear the streets.

"The whole situation also presents a beautiful town in asadly unfavourable light."

Stansfield said he was surprised the letter had beenpublicly released, but added the police would be happy to listen to any issues.

He said in a statement he would provide Dudley "with a fullresponse addressing his concerns once I have received the letter and investigated further the issues he has raised."

The Windsor Homelessness Project's manager, Murphy James, toldthe BBC it was "sickening" Dudley had cited the royal wedding asa reason for concern.

"It's absolutely abhorrent that anybody has got these viewsin this day and age, especially a lead councillor of the borough," he said. "If somebody is sleeping out on the street,they are not there by choice. They are there because somethinghas gone wrong."