Cheltenham sex trade inquiry to be held

Prostitution in Cheltenham is to be the subject of an inquiry.

A working group on the borough council was set up last month amid concerns expressed by residents.

No date has been set for the hearing but a final report is due out later in the year, the council said.

Between 2008 and 2011, Gloucestershire Police arrested 23 people on suspicion of being involved in running a brothel.

The council-led investigation has been set up after Conservative councillor Barbara Driver was approached by family friends whilst on holiday in the United States.

She said she was asked about the problem of prostitution in Cheltenham while she was attending a barbecue, after friends had seen a documentary on the topic aired on American TV.

Many towns have an issue with prostitution, one councillor told me "but we don't like it in our town".

Cheltenham prides itself on its festivals and horse racing.

There is no red light district so prostitution takes place behind closed doors, which makes it harder to tackle.

The aim of this study will be to see what organisations are doing and to draw up a plan to deal with the delicate subject once and for all.

On her return to the UK some Cheltenham residents voiced their concerns to the councillor about "comings and going from homes in the town" so she decided it was an issue worth pursuing.

Last month a full meeting of Cheltenham Borough Council voted to establish a working group to look into the sex trade in the town. That group has now decided to hold a one-day public inquiry.

The study hopes to establish what work is being done currently by different organisations and how that might be joined up.

It also hopes to look into what role the authority can play in tackling the issue with the aim being to have a strategy planned by the end of the year.

A Gloucestershire Police spokesperson has told the BBC: "We welcome any initiative that looks to address the exploitation of young women and other vulnerable people in the county."

A 2009 investigation by the BBC revealed that during the town's National Hunt Festival around 70 sex workers operated in the town along with two known brothels.