Cold-calling zones should be established to protect residents from nuisance salesmen, it has been claimed.

West Malling Parish Council has received complaints of door-to-door sellers “turning nasty” if refused custom.

The parish is calling for a cold-calling control zone to be set up in the town. It would make door-to-door selling illegal.

But Alison Finch, the crime reduction co-ordinator at Tonbridge and Malling council, says the town must wait until a pilot scheme in Tonbridge is completed.

Parish council clerk Carole D’Silva said the council was “extremely disappointed”.

She said: “There has been a cold-calling zone in Cranbrook for some time, and there are such zones all over the country - Cambridgeshire currently has over 50.

“There must be considerable evidence by now of the best practice and effectiveness of these zones, and we understand that the evidence is that they are effective.”

Pauline Nix of West Malling Age Concern said she welcomed any move that would bring peace of mind to the town’s elderly citizens.