16 December 2023 , 16:10
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Cash-stapped sex workers are said to be flagging down fathers during the school run in an area which was known to be Britain's failed first legal red-light district.
Families living in Holbeck, Leeds, claim prostitutes have launched a "24-hour operation" and are offering services for £30. But services reportedly drop to as low as £10 after midnight as part of Christmas saving deals. It is believed the sex workers are mainly Eastern Europeans who have been trafficked by gangs.
The sex workers have reportedly been caught 'falling' off the curb in front of kids (Tom McGourty)Locals claim the prostitutes have been targeting wealthier clients who travel through the area in the morning. As a result, they have allegedly been caught "falling off the kerb into the roads in front of families." The sex workers left the area at the start of the coronavirus pandemic after a truce with the police was called off. There had been an approach of tolerance to sex work there since 2014.
The area has reportedly now been taken over again by the drug-addled sex workers who continue to offer their services, despite the toleration policy no longer being in place. One sex worker told the Daily Mail: "I never usually work days. But I have had a really bad few nights and I need to buy Xmas presents for my kids. Despite the freezing weather, sex workers are wandering the streets in the hopes of picking up a few extra clients."
The prostitues are allegedly targeting wealthy men on the school run (Tom McGourty)There has been some controversy over the appearance of the sex workers in front of school children, with the desperate-for-cash prostitutes in full view on the street corner. One resident living near the area said: "They will be back. It is now a 24-hour operation. We see them at all times of the day. It is very sad. They are absolutely desperate for money for drugs and to buy Christmas presents for their children. Many of the kids are in care of course - but it is still Christmas."
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Claire Bentley-Smith, who runs the Save Our Eyes group for residents to report prostitution sightings, said: "As parents walking children to primary school, we noticed that prostituted women were still out soliciting in the mornings, trying to flag down cars and falling off the kerb into the roads in front of families and commuter cars."