A ban聽 on nuisance 鈥渃huggers鈥 in Birmingham 鈥 the first of its kind in the country 鈥 has been approved by council bosses.
The bylaw means fundraisers could be prosecuted if they cause an obstruction or annoy passers-by.
The policy was put forward amid fears that chuggers, which is a portmanteau of charity and muggers, were hitting trade, with shoppers deterred from visiting the city centre and suburban parades by the prospect of being harassed for cash.
Coun Tony Kennedy told the council鈥檚 licensing committee that some collectors acted as a 鈥済ang鈥.
He said: 鈥淥nly last week I was stood some while watching the gang on Millennium Bridge.
鈥淭hey were spaced out in such a way not just pushing the boundary of behaviour, they were operating as a gang.鈥
Committee members voted unanimously in favour of introducing the ban.
The proposal will now be sent to the Department for Local Government for provisional approval and will go before a full council meeting with a resolution for it to be formally adopted.
An authority report said 鈥渕any鈥 street fundraisers flouted rules set by the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association.
Those include not following someone for more than three steps or blocking their way.
The council鈥檚 survey found 84 per cent of respondents were put off walking through the city centre because of collectors.
Of the 634 people asked, 96 per cent said they had been approached by charity workers.
Half said they were stopped for their bank details and 93 per cent wanted face-to-face fundraising banned from the city centre.
Michael Bushell, manager of Sutton Coldfield鈥檚 Business Improvement District, said trade was suffering as customers avoided the high street.
He said: 鈥淵ou run the gauntlet 鈥 if one doesn鈥檛 get you the next one will. That is a really big problem.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not anti-charity. We just object to the fact that somebody can come along and descend upon us and we have no actual say in what鈥檚 going on.鈥
The Institute of Fundraising last month wrote to the council expressing its fears that the byelaw would hit charities鈥 fundraising abilities.
Chairman Mark Astarita said: 鈥淲ere we to lose this level of support, it is almost certain we would have to cut services to our beneficiaries.鈥
