each been fined $150 in Magistrates' Court.

Stephen Philpott, 38, Carl Smith, 62, and Frederic Burrows, 55, pleaded guilty to the charge that they were wandering abroad but said they had homes in which they resided.

Police prosecutor, Insp. Peter Duffy, said a search was made of the Hog Bay area following numerous complaints from residents that they had been the victims of acts of vagrancy and theft from their gardens and agricultural patches.

Officers found the three men sleeping in the derelict building at 6.45 a.m.

The floor was covered with empty vodka and beer bottles, household items and pieces of personal clothing.

As a result, all three were arrested and taken to the Police station where they indicated they had nowhere to stay.

In court, the men said they did have homes, but used the building as "a place to lodge overnight.'' Insp. Duffy said all three had a history of committing vagrant acts and being drunk and incapable.

"The object of the law is to try and stamp this out as much as we can,'' Senior Magistrate the Wor. Will Francis told the men before fining them.