RESIDENTS fed up of prostitutes in their community are being encouraged to take kerb crawlers' car registrations and hand them to police at special meetings.

Several of the meetings have already been staged in the Bank Top area of Blackburn, in which the residents are guaranteed anonymity to increase their confidence in coming forward.

The move is seen as a useful way at unearthing crucial intelligence to clamp down on prostitution around the Stonyhurst Road and Oakenhurst Road area.

But one resident who has helped organise protests by her neighbours said the prostitution was driving her to the brink of a nervous breakdown.

She has already logged 200 car registrations of kerb crawlers on her computer and offered them to police.

The resident, who has lived in the area for 17 years, said: "We need more undercover police and a CCTV system. The police say they need to catch the people in the act, but they are never here to do that.

"My doctor keeps asking me why my blood pressure is high. I am going to have to tell her what is causing it soon.

"It has got really bad in the past couple of years. They are there all day. They shout abuse at me and have threatened to put my windows through. It is just unbelievable and makes you scared to go out.

"My friends and family call me to see if the prostitutes are there before coming as the girls offer their services to them. It is disgusting.

"I am at boiling point. The claims about more arrests is a load of rubbish because there is no less prostitution."

Coun Kate Hollern, who represents Wensley Fold and is the council's deputy leader, said it takes time to stop prostitution happening.

She added: "It is the oldest profession in the world. We are making steady progress. We are trying to ensure that it it does not happen in residential areas.

"Since the meetings have started things have got better. The police say the meetings have been productive."

Sergeant Phil Davies, who organises the policing of prostitution in Blackburn and has been attending the meetings, added: "The police have been working with the local community and have made great strides in dealing with the problem of prostitution in Blackburn." From April 1, 2002, to March 31, 2003, arrests for kerb crawling in Blackburn with Darwen increased 500 per cent, from 11 the previous year to 71.

That figure is higher than the number of arrests for the offence in the whole of Greater Manchester during the same period which totalled 54.