London

Park is an unusual venue for Prostitutes

However, there is a well-to-do, leafy part of town where the illicit sex trade is doing booming business.

You wouldn't think it of Tooting Bec Common with its leafy green surroundings and houses that can cost in excess of £1,000, 000 but it's become a notorious pick up point for punters looking for quick, cheap sex.

Frontline campaigner

In fact it's a problem that goes back decades. In the mid 90's Marissa Mann was at the frontline of a campaign to stop the vice.

She often counted up to 500 kerb crawlers in an hour when the problem was at its height.

One evening she pleaded with six prostitutes to leave but they turned on her.

New life for sex trade in suburbs?

"I was knocked to the floor and they were kicking my stomach and they smashed my glasses," she said.

"My husband phoned the police and came out and they smashed a whiskey bottle over his head."

CCTV surveillance

Following a lengthy protest by local residents they eventually managed to convince the Met police to provide a local vice squad and the council to install CCTV cameras.

Within days, the reign of the sex workers in the area had come to an end.

CCTV cameras halted prostitution

Recently the prostitutes have come back. Why?

Vice squad disbanded

The Met's vice squad was scrapped in May 2008 for financial reasons leaving the locals dumbfounded.

Amanda Austin, from Neighbourhood Watch, said she was "very surprised" the unit was disbanded.

"This area was notorious for prostitution, it was one of the things that Streatham was famous for unfortunately," she said.

"Surely it is obvious that if you remove a unit like that, it is only a matter of time before the problem creeps back."

Police initiative

However, the police now believe there are more effective ways to stop prostitution in the area.

They now have a team that includes Community Support Officers policing the area.

Sex workers moving to the suburbs?

Amanda is not entirely reassured by this and feels there needs to be a more holistic approach to the problem.

She wants to see vulnerable ladies, young girls, who are drug-dependent, freed from the streets by giving them positive diversions."

Charity works

St Mungo's is a leading charity in London doing just that.

They work with vulnerable women in a very dynamic way.

Encompassing housing, health, employment and relationships, they attempt to harnesses the ambition of the women they support and house.

They offer women a safe place to live and opportunities to change their lives for the better, preventing them from retuning to a life on the streets.

If more initiatives like this are set up perhaps sex workers will no longer lurk in the dark on Tooting Bec Common.

Nevertheless, for now, the battle against prostitution continues.