WAR on chuggers has been declared in Worcester - with furious councillors calling them "parasites" who should be banned from the city.

Worcester City Council wants to outlaw the controversial face-to-face direct debit collectors, saying shoppers have had enough of being accosted.

They are calling upon Worcester MP Robin Walker to intervene, admitting a long-awaited crackdown in 2013 has failed to tackle the problem.

Three years ago the charitable street collectors, known as 'chuggers', were told they can only operate in Worcester on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

They were also told to restrict their locations to either the High Street or part of The Shambles, but the agreement is 'voluntary' and can be ignored.

Angry councillors now say it did not go far enough, accusing the collectors of "pestering people to death by direct debit" and putting shoppers off.

The city's licensing chiefs have been asked to write to Mr Walker in "the strongest possible language" asking for help.

Such a ban would appear to be unprecedented in the UK and if the idea progressed, would almost certainly be subject to a legal challenge.

The chuggers have come under fire during a meeting of the licensing and environmental health committee.

Labour Councillor Elaine Williams said she was fed up of them "preying on vulnerable people", adding: "I'm calling on our Government to ban such parasitical activity."

Councillor Richard Udall added: "We have to act as one to contact our MP to prohibit this parasitical activity.

"We all know the situation is dire out there, we all know people are being pestered to death by direct debit, let's call on our MP to ban it.

"You can't walk down the High Street without being pestered."

Conservative Councillor Mike Johnson said: "Most charities who engage in this have now started to realise it's not making them any money - because they have to pay people to do it and those who sign up normally cancel the direct debit anyway."

Fellow Tory Councillor Roger Knight called for a "parliamentary review" of the situation, with fellow politicians saying they felt powerless.

Councillor Simon Cronin said: "The problem we've always had is that the legislation doesn't allow us any control over this blight on the High Street.

"The only way to do that is to get parliament to act."

They agreed to send Mr Walker a letter urging new Government legislation.

Mr Walker said: "If there is a specific power they don't have, that they feel they need I'm certainly happy to raise it - I will support them where I can.

"Personally I always politely say no (to the chuggers), but I am sympathetic because some people like the elderly can feel guilt tripped into it."

The Institute of Fundraising, which is the body representing the chuggers, told the Worcester News it wanted fresh talks with the council.

Peter Hills-Jones, from the organisation, said: "Our members know how important it is that charities fundraise in a way that maintains public support. "If there are any concerns with the way the agreement is working in Worcester, we would want to urgently work with the council to put this right."

The body can fine charities is there is evidence of them ignoring agreements.