Sarah HallNorwich City Council has agreed to investigate whether it can impose tighter controls on charity workers known as 'chuggers' - after fears Norwich shoppers were being put off by the collectors.Sarah Hall

Norwich City Council has agreed to investigate whether it can impose tighter controls on charity workers known as 'chuggers' - after fears Norwich shoppers were being put off by the collectors.

The so-called 'chuggers', also dubbed 'charity muggers', are people who ask members of the public to sign up to pay standing orders and direct debits to charities.

Some shoppers have felt intimidated by the number of such collectors in streets such as Gentleman's Walk, but because the practice does not involve any exchange of cash, they do not need a licence from Norwich City Council and that means there is no way of limiting their numbers.

But a motion agreed by Norwich City Council last night and put forward by Antony Little, Conservative group leader, will look at whether they can be better regulated.

Mr Little hopes Norwich City Council should do more to regulate the charity collectors, by taking a leaf out of the book of Nottingham City Council.

That council joined forces with the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association (PFRA) to come up with a framework defining where the collectors can be based and how many can operate at a time.