Fewer charity fundraisers will be allowed to work in Croydon town centre after complaints from businesses prompted a clampdown.

Regulators are to restrict the number of street fundraisers, sometimes known as "chuggers", to five a day in response to concerns shoppers were being "confronted" too often.

They will also be limited to working in two zones of North End on three days a week after Croydon Business Improvement District (BID) took action.

Matthew Sims, chief executive of Croydon BID, 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."

Croydon BID approached the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA), the membership body that regulates street fundraising, after a survey last year found 59 per cent of shoppers felt there were too many charity collectors in the town centre.

The regulator will restrict fundraisers in North End to working between 9am and 7pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

The restrictions will apply to collectors who recruit people to donate to charity by direct debit.

Mr Sims said: "What it does is just manage it a little bit better, making it a little bit more efficient and allowing those that don't necessarily want to be bothered too much on their shopping experience to go about their daily business."

Croydon is the 100th area in the country to sign an agreement with the regulator.

Peter Hills-Jones, PFRA chief executive said, said: "It is an effective and balanced way of regulating fundraising on the high street, allowing charities to raise money for good causes, but at the same time protecting the public.

"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."

'Chuggers' are often employed by private companies working on commission to sign up donors for charities.

Are you bothered by 'chuggers' or do they get an unfairly hard time? Post a comment below or email letters@croydonguardian.co.uk