THE number of 'chuggers' allowed to operate in Darlington town centre is being restricted.

Darlington Borough Council has announced that, as of April 24, charity fundraisers can only operate on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

They will also be restricted to two people per street and only allowed to station themselves on Blackwellgate and Northgate, between Crown Street and the Queen Street shopping centre entrance.

The new rules are designed to ease the pressure of shoppers in the town centre after it was brought to the council's attention that people are being stopped repeatedly as they go about their errands.

Some shoppers said they expect to be stopped as the 'chuggers' can be seen along High Row and Northgate.

Emma Hickmans, 32, said she will go out of her way to avoid someone who looks to be selling something.

She said: "I do think the number of people can be quite a lot for a small town centre. I give to charity myself but I’m not really for being stopped all the time."

People have also said that the approach of ‘chuggers’ can sometimes go beyond what is reasonable.

Councillor Chris McEwan, Cabinet Member for Economy, said: “People have described feeling that they had to run a gauntlet of these ‘chuggers’ and being made to feel very uncomfortable or annoyed at being approached repeatedly.

“We want everyone who comes to the town centre to enjoy their visit and we hope that restricting the activities of these third-party fundraisers will go some way towards that.”

Fundraising companies must sign up to the Institute of Fundraising Compliance's code of practice before they are given a slot to work in Darlington.

One condition of operating is that fundraisers must allow people who do not wish to engage with them space to walk by freely.

However, commercial sales agents, such as for gas and electricity, are not permitted to operate in public spaces in Darlington.

If a member of the public is approached by a commercial sales agent, or feels that a charity fundraiser is acting inappropriately, the council recommends they should report it to customerservices@darlington.gov.uk