FEARS a bogus charity collector has been operating in the Slade Green area have been scotched by a national fund raiser.

Parents and staff at Slade Green Infants School initially raised the alarm after a man called door-to-door at homes claiming he was collecting for deaf children.

They said the man produced identification to state he was collecting officially, but he then told people who wanted to donate he wanted their bank details instead of cash.

The fundraiser also mentioned Slade Green Infants and Junior School which has a special unit for children who have hearing problems.

Alarmed people, suspicious about his methods, then rang the school to check if it was fund raising locally.

They were told the school was not involved in a current fund-raising campaign.

Both Bexley Deaf Childrens Society and Bexley Deaf Centre said they were not raising money in the area.

The school then called Bexleyheath police about the collector.

They were told by the police they had received another call about the man collecting in the area.

But the News Shopper can confirm the man is a genuine fundraiser who is working for the National Deaf Childrens Society.

A spokesman for the charity confirmed the charity is fundraising in the Bexley area currently.

The spokesman added instead of asking for a one-off cash donation, the charity was now asking people to agree to direct-debit a small regular amount.

In return for this, new donors will receive regular updates on what the charity is doing and how the money collected is being spent.

The societys spokesman apologised if anyone had been alarmed but said fund raising by direct debit was a new method for the charity.

He said: "It has been fantastic for us and it has enabled us to build up a relationship with our donors."