POLICE said last night that an appeal for men who visited suspected brothels to come forward had proved successful - but warned that others could still face embarrassment.

Hundreds of men are known to have visited properties in Darlington that police had under surveillance, believing them to be brothels.

The premises in Victoria Road and Gurney Street were among six raided by police and immigration officers last week.

Investigators took the unusual step on Monday of issuing a warning to men who had visited the premises that they should talk to officers voluntarily or face a visit from the police - at home or at work.

Durham Police confirmed last night that there had been a good response to the appeal, which was published in The Northern Echo yesterday.

A spokesman said: "There has been a response which has been pleasing.

"A number of people have called the police as a result of the article in The Northern Echo and we will be talking to them.

"But there is still a lot more people out there who have not made contact and we would urge them to do so."

Nine people were arrested during the raids, carried out across Darlington and Teesside last Tuesday.

Two men, in their 30s, were later released on police bail.

Seven Thai women were detained and six were deported after they were found to be illegal immigrants. The seventh has British citizenship and has been released on bail.

The police surveillance operation included noting the car registration numbers of people visiting the two addresses.

Anyone wanting to contact police about the matter can do so anonymously on 0845 6060365.