A DOOR-TO-DOOR seller assaulted a Hampshire resident on his doorstep after he turned down products.

Seamus Larkin, 51, from Chandler’s Ford, was having a cup of tea in his kitchen when a seller knocked on his door at around 7.50pm.

The IT operator said he opened the door and found a man in his 20s on the doorstep, with a black bag and a piece of paper claiming he was on a rehabilitation programme and was trying to improve his life.

But after Mr Larkin said he was not interested in buying anything, the situation escalated and the seller assaulted him.

Mr Larkin told the Echo: “He came right to the door and I asked him to move back a bit. I let him speak a bit and then I could tell he was trying to sell me something.

“I said I wasn’t interested and I asked him three or four times to move back but he ignored me.”

He added: “I gently pushed him back, simply touching him slightly because he was on the door basically and he got very aggressive.

"He tried to push me back and tried to punch me. He started shouting, swearing and threatened me.”

Mr Larkin asked his daughter to phone the police and the seller suddenly ran off.

“He was aggressive and if it had been an elderly person or a lady they would have found it quite intimidating,”Mr Larkin said.

The incident happened on Thursday night. Hampshire Constabulary confirmed that door-to-door sellers have been verbally aggressive with other residents in Chalvington Road, Belmont Road and Cornfield Close, in Chandler’s Ford; in Fair Oak Road, Bishopstoke; Knowle Lane, Horton Heath and in Leigh Road.

Officers are now urging residents to be vigilant and report any suspicious behaviour via 101, or 999 in an emergency.

A spokesperson said: “If cold caller sales are unsuccessful, they are unlikely to return.”