Years of prostitution, begging and anti-social behaviour are driving shoppers away and making residents want to leave the area, say business owners in Birmingham's 'red light district'.
Sex workers - many struggling with drug addiction - come to Soho Road in Handsworth to sell their bodies, sometimes as early as 8am.
Their "pimps" have even confronted shop owners who have tried to document the ongoing issues, it has been claimed.
Syringes and needles are left strewn around, as well as used condoms and wrappers, reports Birmingham Live.
The strip - one of the busiest roads in Birmingham - has experienced issues with prostitution for years - but it's said to be getting worse.
The sex workers will generally wait for business owners to shut up shop before picking up men from the main thoroughfare and taking them to a car park further back.
Business owners are then left to clear up the remnants left behind as they return to work every morning.
And shoppers, especially those with families, are "driven away" by the overt problems, claimed business owners - and locals, too, feel unsafe. Some are even planning to move away from the area.
As BirminghamLive visited the Handsworth street where locals say "you can't walk", the problem became immediately apparent. Huddles of men chugged from open beer cans in the street and, after a short walk down a back street off the main road, a used condom could be seen discarded in a car park.
"It's got worse over the last five, six years. We've had daytime prostitution issues, from 8.30am and Saturday afternoons," says business owner Dipak Patel, speaking from his jewellers.
"We get visitors from outside and this is the impression they have of Birmingham? It's not good at all.
"Condoms on the street - just walk down the side in the morning and they're all there."
Mr Patel recalls how he was confronted by "pimps" after trying to document issues troubling the area.
"I've taken photos [of the prostitutes] to tweet to the police," he said. "We've had pimps come in to say 'why you taking photos, give us your phone'. The girls have seen us and gone to them and they've come out. That's the kind of thing you're expected to work with."
He claims a sex worker "mugged" a man of his wallet outside the shop only two weeks ago. He said: "He approached her [for business] at 3pm, she said: 'It's this much, show me the money'. He got it out of his pocket and she grabbed it and ran.
"People are scared. Friends who live in the area are moving out because you can't walk on Soho Road. Not just [because of] the prostitution - [it's also the] begging, crime, all the anti-social stuff that goes on.
"People just don't feel safe to come out. They see no police officers," he added. "We understand the pressures on the police, but it needs some sort of plan to make things better."
The pandemic, along with the addition of "a lot more" HMOs in the area, has only exacerbated the problem in recent years.
Mr Patel adds: "It's a complex issue that needs a complex solution, it's not just something that's going to be resolved with quick police interventions, it needs the local authority, housing, police; it's a lot of different agencies that are going to have to get involved."
Further along Soho Road, another business owner speaks of the daily issues - and how he starts every morning cleaning up after a night of prostitution.
The shopkeeper, who did not wish to be named amid fears of backlash, tells BirminghamLive: "The problems are mainly at the back of the parking here, come 5/6pm the prostitutes start hanging around the area, waiting for our cars to go.
"Once we've all gone by 7pm, business starts round the back - not only round the back but at the front as well. They will hang around these corners, they'll lure customers round the back with them, do their business and leave all their condoms - all sorts - it's all just chucked there. It's a daily thing for us to come and clear up."
Every weekend they are tasked with clearing out the drain too. As he gestures to show what he believes should be an empty drain after a clear out, another bright pink 'Pasante' wrapper appears.
"It's not just in hidden areas, it's out in the open, come 7pm, you'll see cars pulling up, someone will jump in and then they'll drop them off after about 10 minutes. It's been going on forever.
"Most of them [the sex workers] are the beggars on the roads at the same time; they're begging all day and then come the evening, they'll start the other business."
