A LEADING councillor has called for Blackburn to have its own legalised brothel in a bid to end the problem of prostitutes tarnishing the town's image.

Coun Andy Kay, the head of the town's community safety partnership and Blackburn with Darwen Council's executive member for regeneration, said the move would stop street walkers operating near a gateway to the main shopping area.

But a canon from Blackburn Cathedral said the move may stop prostitution being a public scandal, but it would still leave women vulnerable.

Police said there was not one single solution to the "very complex" problem.

And a national support group for prostitutes claimed that women in legalised brothels would be even more exploited, while others not allowed to work in them would be forced underground. At the moment, keeping, acting or assisting in the management of brothels is an offence under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 but most prostitutes solicit on the street as it carries lesser penalties.

In Blackburn, prostitutes have touted for business in the Bank Top area for many years.

However last week, after police launched a campaign to move the women away from the residential areas, shopkeepers claimed that they had started working outside their premises near the new £250,000 gateway in King Street.

Coun Kay said: "As well as the people who live and work in the area, we have to make sure we are actually helping the people involved to get out of it.

"Having tolerance zones in industrial estates or out of the way tends to put the girls at risk, which isn't a solution either.

"It is a centuries-old problem and I think the only real way of getting it off the streets would be to have a legalised brothel.

"We have tried to help the girls involved but sometimes they just drift back into it. You can't make them stop.

"Legalised brothels would remove the problem from the street while at the same time providing a controlled environment which could be monitored as the agencies try to help the street sex workers."

Canon Andrew Hindley of Blackburn Cathedral said: "Removing it from the street can only be said to be the lesser of two evils. When I drive home I often see working girls and realise this is a problem.

"Even with tolerated massage parlours, those most vulnerable are still exploited, particularly those who are in the country illegally."

The English Collective of Prostitutes is a national network of vice girls who campaign for the de-criminalisation of prostitution.

Spokeswoman Sarah, who did not reveal her surname, said: "Legalising brothels creates a two-tier system where anyone not working in the premises is forced underground and further criminalised.

"It also means the owner of the brothel is in charge. It is like working in a factory with 12-hour shifts.

"If prostitution was de-criminalised then women could work when they wanted in premises they wanted to."

Supt Warren Turner said: "There is not one single solution to this problem.

"However the whole issue is extremely complex and we need to take into consideration the needs of those engaged in sex working."

Rossendale and Darwen MP Janet Anderson said: "I have no comment to make on remarks Andy Kay is alleged to have made."