Romanian beggar sent home under new Italian plan

ROME, July 4 (Reuters) A disabled Romanian who begged near the Pantheon has been sent back to his homeland, the first to be repatriated under a new bilateral plan to cut the number of Romanian migrants living on the streets of Rome.

The man, identified only as 'Florin B.', suffered from a ''serious physical congenital disability'' that forced him to move around with the help of a skateboard, Rome's mayor said.

Under a deal between the capital cities of the two countries, Bucharest's mayor, who hosted talks with his counterpart from Rome last week, agreed to set up a centre to take back some of the Romanians living on Rome's streets.

Romanians are one of the largest immigrant groups in Italy.

Nearly 1,000 children from Romania live on the streets of the Italian capital.

Rome's mayor Walter Veltroni in return has pledged to offer professional training in Rome to Romanian migrants to help them find work when they return home.

Apart from the repatriation plan, Veltroni has previously proposed building four camps on the outskirts of the city for gypsies -- drawing opposition from human rights groups. Many of the gypsies on Rome's streets are of Romanian origin.

REUTERS DKS RAI0450