AGE Concern in Bromsgrove is backing a move to ban unsolicited doorstep selling of property repairs in a bid to make life safer for more than 20,000 older people in the town.

Keith Sherman, chief officer for the Bromsgrove branch of Age Concern, is supporting a new bill to introduce legislation to outlaw this kind of selling.

"Older people are especially vulnerable to doorstep selling of this kind and we would like to see it stopped," said Mr Sherman.

"There are already too many cases of people being persuaded to have work done that perhaps is not necessary, is done badly and over priced. We hear of some cases but many go unreported," he added.

But Mr Sherman warns that the bigger problem is criminals who use door to door selling as a way to get into the homes of older people to steal their cash and property.

"Elderly people are particularly vulnerable because they tend to be more trusting having been brought up in a era where there was less of this kind of thing going on," he said.

"They also tend to be more lonely and isolated and therefore, because they crave company, are more likely to let people into their homes."

There are an estimated 20,000 people in the Bromsgrove area aged 60 and over - that represents more than 20 per cent of the population. There are more than 7,000 people who are over 75.

"Of course I am not saying that all door to door salespeople are crooks but there are too many who are up to no good," said Mr Sherman.

"A town like Bromsgrove has a lot of vulnerable elderly people. Many of them live in fear of crime and it is no consolation that the fear is often worse than the reality. I am aware of many older people who literally barricade their doors after dark so anything that helps to reduce the fear factor is a good thing."