Residents in an area that was once part of a legal red light zone say they are now being tormented by people having sex on their street. The area, in Holbeck, Leeds, was part of a project called the Managed Approach, which permitted sex work at certain hours on designated streets.
However, the project was abandoned by Leeds City Council in 2020 after six years. People living there say the situation has deteriorated ever since.
Jackie and Michael Scott, who are 56 and 77 respectively, say they hear "screams" at all hours and are regularly woken up by noise related to sex acts happening close to their home. They say sex workers, both male and female, as well as kerb crawlers, now populate the resident streets.
Michael, who is a retired security guard, said he had grown tired of the "noises and the screaming”. He told LeedsLive: “I think it’s absolutely disgusting. The council closed the Managed Approach, but now the prostitutes are coming into the residential areas, like on Crosby Road. They’re doing it there.”
The 77-year-old said he was recently woken up by a sex worker and her punter who were 'conducting business' directly outside his front door. He stuck his head out the window and saw she was wearing nothing but a small t-shirt and white hot pants.
He shouted at both of them to “move on!” and they went around the corner, to the next street, and continued their business there.
Michael said: “That’s what’s happening now, they don’t give a damn.”
Jackie spoke about a recent unnerving incident she heard at 3.15am. She said she heard a sex worker slamming the car door and shouting at her punter: “No, not b****y likely!”
The punter in the car then asked: “What about next week?”
“No, don’t bother, never! I’m never going to go with you ever again. F*** off!” screamed back the young woman.
Jackie says she’s regularly woken up by the noise, “you can hear what’s going on” she adds. She wants police to take tougher action.
Jackie said: “I suffer with mental health and I’ve got other problems wrong with me. But I don’t go out and put myself out there like that.
“A copper said to me that some of them were homeless - I’ve been there as well. I’ve been through what these girls are going through but I don’t put myself on the street. I’ve been a junkie, an alcie, homeless. I find it disgusting because the police are doing nothing about it.”
But Jackie doesn’t want the Managed Approach to return. She said: “What they should do is find somewhere safe for them off the streets, like a warehouse and put beds there. Let them take the punters there.”
A Leeds city council spokesperson said it had seen a "positive trajectory” in its response to sex work and anti-social behaviour. The local authority made assurances that it remained focussed on “tackling community concerns” and safeguarding those involved in sex work. The council encourages residents to make reports to the dedicated phone line and have said it works in partnership with West Yorkshire Police.
The council spokesperson said: “The dedicated police team work in close partnership with other services, including the Safer Leeds anti-social behaviour team, sharing intelligence which guides our on-street patrolling and joint operations.
"Our intelligence led approach is robust and intended to mitigate the risk to any person present in the area, including sex workers. In addition, the police and anti-social behaviour team take criminal and civil enquiries through to the courts, to secure injunctions to remove people who may fall into such a category.”
West Yorkshire Police and the anti Managed Approach campaign group Save Our Eyes have also been asked for a comment.
