DURHAM City Council has signed an agreement to regulate the operation of charity fundraisers.

Increasingly, charities are turning to teams, often employed by professional fundraising firms, that ask people in the street to sign up for direct debit contributions.

Many charities and fundraising firms have now signed up to a code of conduct promoted by the Public Fund-Raising Association.

The code prohibits manipulative or high pressure approaches. In Durham, the city council has agreed the code and will regulate where this type of fund-raising can take place.

If fundraisers breach the agreement, they can be fined by the association. Anyone with a complaint should make it within 48 hours. The authority has 72 hours to report any complaint to the association.

A council spokesman said: "There have been complaints about high-pressure techniques in other cities but none in Durham. The agreement with this association sets out designated areas where they can do fundraising and there is a code of conduct outlining how they should operate."