RNLI volunteers in the district are hoping people will continue to dig deep this month after announcing they will no longer be carrying out door to door canvassing.

The charity has taken the decision to stop its house calls as part a national decision to adopt less intrusive ways of raising money.

From January 1, 2017 it will only contact individuals by post, email or telephone who have given their express permission for them to do so.

Local street collections will continue, with members of Dover lifeboat collecting at B&M in Whitfield on Friday, November 25 and Walmer volunteers in Deal High Street the next day.

They hope the community will continue to support their lifesaving work as generously as they have in the past.

Wallace Murray, chairman of Walmer, Deal and District fundraising committee, said: “House-to-house collections have been a wonderful fundraiser for us in the past and we would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to all those collectors and donors who have supported our vital lifesaving work so generously over many years.”

The entire charitable sector has faced mounting public criticism of some of its fundraising approaches in recent times, and after a major review by the chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, new legislation is likely.

Mr Murray said: “The RNLI has always prided itself on its ethical approach to fundraising and has always worked hard to build good and respectful relationships with its supporters.

“It is determined to ensure that it continues to deserve this trust and has decided to modify its whole approach to seeking donations from individuals.”

Last week Cllr Bob Frost, a life governor of the RNLI who conducted door to door appeal for years, said he was disappointed with the charity’s decision and only ever witnessed pleasantness and incredible generosity from people.

Mr Murray said: “The vast majority of householders welcome our visits, but not everyone feels that way and we need to respect that.

“The local fundraising branch is lucky to be able to work closely with Walmer Lifeboat Station and the crew there and many people tell me how much it means to them to have the RNLI as such an integral part of our community.

“All our fundraisers are determined to carry on raising funds whether by street collection or by running a variety of events throughout the year.”

The charity expects there will be a drop in income, in the short-to-medium term from these changes that could amount to about £11 million in the current year.

Leesa Harwood, RNLI fundraising director, said: “The RNLI is making this change because we believe that it’s the right thing to do.

“We’re lucky to be a well-respected and supported charity and we need to make sure that respect is mutual and our supporters’ trust is well placed.

“We will need to change some of the ways we work so we can make up for the potential shortfall, find new ways of fundraising and be creative about how we encourage people to opt in to hear about what we are doing and support us.”