Persistent beggar who repeatedly harassed local shoppers receives prison sentence following action by Buckinghamshire Council

A persistent beggar who regularly harassed people in High Wycombe town centre has been sentenced to one year in prison following multiple breaches of an injunction against him, when the case was heard at High Wycombe County Court on Tuesday 16 September. Davis was absent in court but was arrested by police earlier this week and is now in custody.

In November 2024, Buckinghamshire Council successfully applied for a two-year injunction against Lee Davis which banned him from entering an exclusion zone within High Wycombe town centre (unless for a formal appointment.) The terms of the injunction also prohibited Davis from begging.

The initial action came about following multiple complaints from members of the public in relation to Davis’s persistent begging activities.

Davis has repeatedly failed to take advantage of multiple offers of support from outreach teams and despite the presence of the injunction, he continued to enter the exclusion zone to beg for money and other items on a regular basis. As a result, Buckinghamshire Council’s Community Safety team was left with no other option than to pursue legal action against Davis for repeated and ongoing breaches of the terms of the injunction. On 27 June 2025 the case was heard at High Wycombe County Court. A total of 16 breaches of the injunction were recorded.

Steve Bowles, is Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, he said:

“We take anti-social behaviour issues like this extremely seriously. This is a great result for residents and visitors to High Wycombe town centre, many of whom will have had to witness the anti-social behaviour of this individual. No one should have to experience something like this as they go about their day and it will not be tolerated. I would particularly like to thank Thames Valley Police for their support and those witnesses who came forward to report breaches of the order. They helped us to bring about this action and ensure the safety and protection of the wider community.”

Steve added: “I would also like to stress, we regularly reach out to all vulnerable people on the streets and offer a variety of support and assistance as we did on multiple occasions with Mr Davis but we cannot insist that people accept this help."