COUNCIL officials have defended the actions of an enforcement officer criticised for moving a rough sleeper away from a Boscombe supermarket.

The young woman had been sheltering from the rain in the car park behind Sainsbury's in Christchurch Road on Saturday, February 10 when she was approached by the officer.

He told her she had to move away from the area.

A witness, who didn't want to be named, said: "The girl wasn't doing anything wrong at all.

"She was saying to the man, 'I'm not begging, I'm just sat here'.

"What rights does he have to make her move? He sent her off into the rain.

"Would he have done it to a big bloke?

"I'm absolutely furious about it."

The woman had left the Occupy Homeless Sanctuary in Ashley Road earlier that day after a fire broke out at the site.

As reported in the Daily Echo, the kitchen area and store room was destroyed in the blaze, which took hold at the coal yard shortly before 8am.

Firefighters had to rouse rough sleepers unaware of the danger from their tents to evict them from the site.

A spokesperson from Bournemouth council said: “The enforcement officer who attended this incident is a Community Safety Accreditation Scheme Officer, who is employed by the council and seconded to Dorset Police as part of the extended policing team.

"These officers carry powers designated by the Chief Constable of Dorset Police to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in the Boscombe Precinct area.

“There is no enforcement power to require a person to leave the area if directed. However, it will be requested of those individuals who are known to cause anti-social behaviour, which was the case in this instance.”

The enforcement officers, who are tasked with a wide range of responsibilities in Bournemouth, have previously faced criticism.

The borough delegated responsibility for issuing litter fines to the officers in 2016.

During a council meeting, it was heard that the officers, all of whom wear body cameras, had annoyed town centre business owners by following suspected offenders into shops.