A Florida-based business owner has taken to the streets to warn the public not to give money to a local homeless man.

Ryan Bray was approached by a homeless man while his vehicle was stopped at the intersection of 75th Street West and Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton, 47 miles south of Tampa. In an attempt to get the panhandler back on his feet, Ryan allegedly offered him money to do some yard work for him.

However, the homeless man apparently refused, kicking Bray’s tire and leaving. Now Ryan is urging others not to donate anything to someone who seems unwilling to work for it.

Taking to the streets of Bradenton, Bray stood next to the homeless man and followed him around the block, bearing a sign of his own which reads "I offered him $15 an hour to do yard work for me and he refused. If we as a community stop paying them they will leave our neighbourhood." Ryan's wife Betsey uploaded a picture of her spouse and his sign to Facebook, where the image quickly went viral on social media.

Betsey wrote: "Ryan offered a homeless guy $15 an hour to do some yard work and he refused and then kicked his tire so Ryan has been working the same corner for the last couple of hours with his sign trying to get people to stop giving him money and chase him away. because they are liars and only want handouts they don’t really want to work like the rest of us have to do for a living. [sic]"

Ryan later posted a Facebook status of his own, in which he wrote: "The reality is if we stopped giving money [panhandlers] would move. As the five different Bradenton Police Department (BPD) officers that were present for the majority of my three hours stated, Northwest Bradenton is a gold mine for them."

He added: "The ordinance that BPD adopted was Manatee County’s ordinance, which has since been rescinded thereby giving the law enforcement no real authority to enforce the law. That said, we as citizens have the right to protest their panhandling next to them."

If you'd like to make a real difference to the lives of people sleeping rough on the streets, then please consider donating to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

A Florida-based business owner has taken to the streets to warn the public not to give money to a local homeless man.

Ryan Bray was approached by a homeless man while his vehicle was stopped at the intersection of 75th Street West and Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton, 47 miles south of Tampa. In an attempt to get the panhandler back on his feet, Ryan allegedly offered him money to do some yard work for him.

However, the homeless man apparently refused, kicking Bray’s tire and leaving. Now Ryan is urging others not to donate anything to someone who seems unwilling to work for it.

Taking to the streets of Bradenton, Bray stood next to the homeless man and followed him around the block, bearing a sign of his own which reads "I offered him $15 an hour to do yard work for me and he refused. If we as a community stop paying them they will leave our neighbourhood." Ryan's wife Betsey uploaded a picture of her spouse and his sign to Facebook, where the image quickly went viral on social media.

Betsey wrote: "Ryan offered a homeless guy $15 an hour to do some yard work and he refused and then kicked his tire so Ryan has been working the same corner for the last couple of hours with his sign trying to get people to stop giving him money and chase him away. because they are liars and only want handouts they don’t really want to work like the rest of us have to do for a living. [sic]"

Ryan later posted a Facebook status of his own, in which he wrote: "The reality is if we stopped giving money [panhandlers] would move. As the five different Bradenton Police Department (BPD) officers that were present for the majority of my three hours stated, Northwest Bradenton is a gold mine for them."

He added: "The ordinance that BPD adopted was Manatee County’s ordinance, which has since been rescinded thereby giving the law enforcement no real authority to enforce the law. That said, we as citizens have the right to protest their panhandling next to them."

If you'd like to make a real difference to the lives of people sleeping rough on the streets, then please consider donating to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.