Cork beggar back on his feet after job offer from stranger

A man begging on the street was so desperate he tried to break into the collection box of a candle shrine in a church — but, thanks to the kindness of strangers, his life may be about to change.

Christopher Jones, 24, had been getting into difficulty with gardaí for repeatedly begging on the streets to pay for his heroin addiction. He was facing sentencing yesterday for criminal damage to the coin box at Farranree church on March 21.

However, a stranger he met on the street gave him his first job and Jones is now due to get his first pay packet on December 22. He is also starting a methadone treatment programme.