Salvation Army tin rattling ban

Salvation Army bands have been forbidden from rattling their charity tins this Christmas to avoid "intimidating" people, it has been claimed.

Members have been issued with guidelines stating that they must keep their tins still even when music is playing. One volunteer with the Christian charity said she had been told that rattling could also offend other religions.

Salvation Army bands are a fixture of town centres over the Christmas period, with the money they raise from performing carols used to support the charity's large network of social programmes.

But rarely-enforced laws regulating public collections are now being used by some local councils to limit their work, sparking anger from donors and performers. Band members who breach the rule face being moved on or even prosecuted.

"I've been doing this for more than 40 years and I fail to see how rattling a tin could cause offence," one said.

"If I was shaking a tambourine I could do it all day – if I shake my tin, I could end up in court."