There have been reports of a young male going around the Glebe Estate area of Chiswick pretending to be collecting money for the Saint John Ambulance.

A spokesperson for the charity stated that this person was not working for them however, St John Ambulance do currently have legitimate fundraisers in the borough of Hounslow including the Chiswick area.

The campaign, using a team of professional fundraisers who work solely on behalf of St John Ambulance, involves canvassing door to door to talk to residents about the work of St John Ambulance and to encourage their support with a voluntary donation, by Direct Debit only. They DO NOT collect cash and are in fact forbidden to do so.

Murat Ismail, Community Fundraising Manager for St John Ambulance told ChiswickW4.com, "Our fundraisers all wear identification badges and sweatshirts/t-shirts bearing the St John Ambulance logo (see left). St John Ambulance is the holder of a House to House Order of Exemption (reference CHC/98/7/40/1), which enables us to fundraise in this way.

"This form of fundraising is extremely important to us because the more long-term supporters we recruit, the more funds we can raise - and the greater the potential St John Ambulance has to continue with its life-saving activities in our local communities. For St John Ambulance this is one of our most successful activities. As you will probably know we have to fundraise as we do not receive Government funding for carrying out our first aid duties."

Police ask residents to check the identification of all doorstep callers. If in doubt, notify the police on 0300 123 1212 and quote CAD 8654.

February 24, 2009