Chugger dodging is the new sport for shoppers

The full extent of the harassment suffered by shoppers at the hands of charity collectors is revealed today.

So-called "charity muggers" - or "chuggers" - have become such a problem that the Government has been forced to announce a clampdown on their practices.

Last week ministers unveiled sweeping new restrictions including:

The regulations will be enforced when the Government's new Charities Bill becomes law. But until then, pedestrians will continue to run the gauntlet of chuggers.

The Evening Standard found teams of charity collectors falling over each other to secure pledges from passers-by and ride roughshod over the rules designed to restrain them.

In three streets we found 15 collectors. Some pedestrians were approached by different representatives of the same charity up to five times in 90 seconds. Collectors deliberately stepped in front of people to stop them and ask for donations. Many chuggers also walked alongside pedestrians after they had initially been ignored.

None of the workers volunteered that some of the money pledged would go to the professional chugging firms who pay their wages. Collectors work on different charity campaigns for the firms - at a rate of up to £8 an hour.

Under current law the collectors are supposed to point out that a proportion of each gift goes to a chugging company.

As well as the strict new licensing regime announced by the Government, ministers also plan to close a loophole that allows chuggers to escape regulation because they collect directdebit pledges rather than cash.

Charity mugging has become big business, generating fees running to tens of millions of pounds annually. Chugging firms enter contracts with charities to raise funds on their behalf. They typically charge charities between £40 and £60 for each donor signed up to a direct-debit donation.

Last year chuggers persuaded about 700,000 people to support more than 100 charities, according to the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association.