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Chuggers Now Banned In 100 Towns As Croydon Says 'Enough'

Croydon has joined the scores of other towns up and down the country who have signed up to the scheme to stop the intrusive fundraisers hassling shoppers

Croydon has banned chuggers
Croydon has banned chuggers

Croydon has become the 100th town to ban charity chuggers from their streets.

The south London borough has joined the scores of other towns up and down the country who have signed up to the scheme to stop the intrusive fundraisers hassling shoppers to give to charity.

Chuggers are now banned fours days a week from Croydon and their numbers have now been restricted to a maximum of five people per shift.

They will now only be permitted to work on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

High street charity fundraisers are a common sight on Britain's highstreets
High street charity fundraisers are a common sight on Britain's highstreets

Matthew Sims, chief executive of Croydon Business Improvement District, said: "The level of charity collectors has been a concern for quite some time.

"The general public, consumers, but also businesses have raised concerns about the level of charity collection in general across not just our town centre but I think nationwide.

"This allows us in some form to manage that process.”

Public Fundraising Regulatory Association chief executive Peter Hills-Jones said the restriction was “an effective and balanced way” of regulating high street fundraising on the high street.

He said: "People complain that they often feel confronted when they are out shopping and agreements such as this ensure that fundraisers are sensitive to this in terms of where they position themselves and the number of days and people involved in fundraising.”

The latest chugger ban comes just weeks after 92-year-old poppy seller Olive Cooke was found dead after reportedly being bombarded by 200 charity letters a month asking for money.

The government have set out plans for a Charities Bill to bring in tighter regulation.