Scheme may be launched inother areas around Bognor

The giant zone to stop rogue traders getting a foothold in people's doors is being considered by a senior police officer.

Chief Inspector Brian Bracher, in charge of the Arun district, said treating every neighbourhood the same would put a total freeze on cold calling crime.

'This is something I am going to take up with trading standards. Maybe we could bring in one no doorstep callers' zone for all of Bognor and all of Littlehampton rather than doing this in a piecemeal fashion,' he stated.

'There have been real positive benefits of having these zones and they have been a lot of success across this area.

'We have put in the zones in areas where there have been incidents with rogue traders and I know residents have been delighted with the zones.'

He said the clampdown on traders selling door to door, which could lead to conmen deceiving residents, had the general support of the local Neighbourhood Watch association as well as the Arun crime and disorder prevention partnership where the police joined with councils and other organisations to decide crime-tackling measures.

A zone for the coastal strip between Pagham and Elmer would take in about 25,200 properties.

County senior trading standards officer Gavin Hunnikin said: 'We will have to look at this idea carefully. The risk we run from having one large zone is that we will dilute awareness of the zone by everyone who lives here.

'It be that some areas don't even need to be included in a zone, anyway. An alternative proposal could be to put signs at the entrance to areas telling visitors if they have zones so they know not to go any further if they are trying to sell something.'