Cold calling exclusion zones are springing up across the UK as householders try to deter door-to-door callers, including the latest strain of doorstep "seller" - the charity fundraiser.

The town centre has become their roaming ground, but lately, or so it seems, those insistent young fundraisers known to many as chuggers - charity muggers - have moved from High Street to side street.

Instead of winning shoppers round with a joke on the street, they've begun targeting homes by looking for affluent-but-not-uptight households that are likely to donate.

It is one of the reasons councils have started to set up No Cold Calling Zones - streets marked with signs warning traders to stay away. Householders say door-to-door sellers are an invasion of privacy and they waste time, plus there is no escape route from the front door.