SOUTHEND’S red light district is worse than ever.

That’s the view of residents who say girls are selling their bodies 24 hours a day.

In the past five weeks, families living in Ambleside Drive and Riviera Drive say they have noticed more and more prostitutes on their streets.

They have been spotted throughout the day and into the early hours of the morning.

It has led to a councillor calling for “tolerance zones”, away from residential areas, where the girls could operate with police turning a blind eye to their activities.

The area was blighted by prostitution for many years until pressure from residents in 2004 led to a council and police operation to clear up the streets. CCTV cameras were installed and antisocial behaviour orders handed out.

Residents now want the police to increase patrols and clean up the neighbourhood again.

One 63-year-old woman, who lives in Ambleside Drive, said she feared her grandchildren would see what was going on when they came to visit.

She said: “They shouldn’t have to see this sort of thing. It really is disgraceful that we should have to put up with it.

“It has been absolutely appalling lately. This was made a no-go area for prostitutes and it was all right for a while, but now it is worse than I have ever known it.”

Extra lighting was installed in Ambleside Drive in April to act as a deterrent to kerb crawlers and similar plans are in place for Riviera Drive.

But residents fear the lighting has made the problem worse because the prostitutes now feel safer on the street.

Stephen George, councillor for the Kursaal ward, said he has spoken with several residents about the problem and favoured setting up “tolerance zones.”

Sgt Dave Browning said police were aware of the problem of prostitutes working in certain streets of Southend.

He said: “We are looking into long-term approaches to work with the females to take them away from drugs, which is the main reason they turn to this, as opposed to just prosecuting kerb-crawlers and prostitutes on their own.

Anyone who sees anything suspicious is being urged to call officers on 0300 3334444.