A Chiswick man has slammed council election chiefs over the 'dastardly' way he was pressured to fill in a voter registration form.

Gordon Ritchie, 51, who has recently moved to flats Kew Bridge Road, claims he was first approached by the council-hired canvasser two weeks ago on October 21 after having moved in the week before.

Mr Ritchie, who previously lived in Totteridge in north London, said the man rang his entry phone at 10.15pm.

"However he managed to find a way in without my consent and banged on my door loudly," he said. "I told him it was too late and said I would fill in the form if it was posted to me, I also asked him not to call on me again."

The man - who would receive £1.85 for each form returned - returned the following evening at around 6.30pm, again bypassing the entry phone system.

"When I refused to fill the form in again he told me he would come back every day and night until I did," said Mr Ritchie. "After I told him that was harassment he then punched my door in an attempt to intimidate me, so I called the police to report the incident in case he came back.

"These are dastardly canvassing techniques, and they are obviously so pushy because they get a commission."

There are no time restrictions as to when they can call on houses although a council spokeswoman admitted 10.15pm was probably a bit too late and said officials were looking into the matter.

It is a criminal offence to fail to return an electoral registration form, punishable by a maximum fine of £1,000.