AGGRESSIVE charity collectors who harass shoppers to sign up for donations could be banned from Southend town centre.

Concerns have been raised about the way some rogue collectors operate and what happens to the money.

The measure is part of the proposed public space protection order for the town designed to combat anti-social behaviour.

Councillor Martin Terry, who is responsible for community safety, promised it would only impact “disreputable” collectors.

“Organisations will be able to contact the council and hold petition days, events and collections,” he said.

“This is focussed on those who turn up on the High Street ad-hoc, who are often from disreputable organisations where rather than the money going to charity is goes to the company.”

If the new PSPO is approved on Monday collectors could face fines of up to £1,000 if caught operating in a restricted area without permission.

The area is expected to cover the town centre, seafront, Southchurch Hall Gardens, Hamlet Court Road and York Road.

The PSPO would also ban aggressive begging and rough sleeping from the area.

The proposal has attracted mixed reactions.

During the public consultation one said: “If people are homeless, forcing them to move on only disperses the problem. If I were homeless, I’d want to be homeless by the sea.

“There is clearly a problem of homelessness in Southend but making their already miserable lives any harder is not the solution.”

Others who support the order have called for even greater measures covering the whole borough and also targeting sex workers.

Mr Terry said: “This has to be reviewed as to how successful it has been so it could be added later on but right now we are focussing on the changes we want to achieve and not making it too broad.

“It is also important to keep in mind that police are now looking at this from a health perspective as well as a crime perspective.

“People who want to stand on the street often has some other issue like substance abuse or something of that nature so our approach is slightly different.”

Police currently deal with complaints about sex workers.

As part of the PSPO Southend Council also plans to look at treatment opportunities for drugs and alcohol.