Forcing Ilford Lane’s sex workers into neighbouring boroughs is a thing of the past, Cllr Ross Hatfull has said.

The cabinet member for community safety and enforcement is working alongside Redbridge Police and Loxford ward councillors to curb the issue of prostitution on the road.

However, Cllr Hatfull said it is not in the council’s best interests to simply move on the sex workers.

He said: “Success in this instance is not to eradicate prostitution in Ilford and push it into a neighbouring borough.

Newham, Barking and Dageham all have long-running issues with sex workers too.

Cllr Hatfull added: “In the past we would push the prostitutes into Barking, two months later their police would mount an operation and push it back.

“It is now a case of all three boroughs mounting an operation to make sure that our work is more coordinated, so we are not just moving the operation around.”