Mayor backs red light zone

The plan is to move prostitutes out of residential areas

Officially-tolerated red light districts may be set up for prostitutes working in Doncaster, the town's elected mayor has revealed.

Police and councillors have been holding talks with the Home Office about the proposals.

The move comes after calls by residents to tackle the problems of prostitution close to residential areas in the town centre.

But Doncaster Council has denied the zone, likely to be in an industrial area, would make the town a magnet for the vice trade.

Mayor Martin Winter said: "We want to show the people of the UK that if you look to Doncaster you can see an example of how to manage prostitution.

"Not to legalise it - how to manage prostitution. This is most definitely what we are trying to do."

Talks ongoing

Some residents in the Town Moor area have backed the plan, believing it could stop prostitutes working near their homes and children's schools.

Neighbourhood Watch member Bernie Aston said: "I have an 11-year-old daughter. I took her to the bus stop on her first day at secondary school, walked around the corner and there was a prostitute out at 0800 BST.

"I don't want my daughter going out for school and finding prostitutes on the road."

South Yorkshire Police say talks are still at an early stage and it is not possible to say when, or how, the idea would clear prostitutes from the residential streets.

A spokesman added it was not yet clear if the plan would even go-ahead.

Doncaster Council says it will continue talks with the government and police to examine ways of making the scheme work.