DOZENS of schoolgirl prostitutes are risking Aids by having unprotected sex for as little as £2, a drugs counsellor has warned.

It is estimated there may be up to 60 girls - some as young as 14 - selling sex in parts of Teesside.

Counsellors last night said many of the girls in Stockton and Thornaby are resorting to prostitution to feed their craving for crack cocaine.

"The girls are prostituting themselves rather than stealing because a crack cocaine high lasts about ten minutes before you start to come down, and they need the next fix quickly," said Tina Williams.

Mrs Williams, of support group Parents and Adults against Narcotics in the Community, warned that, depending on how desperate they are for the drug, the youngsters will agree to unprotected sex for only £2.

She said: "It is so sad. The lasses will do it for a couple of pounds."

She fears that the trend could result in an epidemic of hepatitis C and HIV.

"We are starting to sort out heroin. We have a thousand in treatment at Stockton, but for crack cocaine we have no real treatment, apart from counselling."

Regular police swoops on red light areas on Teesside have driven the problem underground, with youngsters "working" from home by mobile phone, said Mrs Williams, who has counselled a 15-year-old girl prostitute.

It has been established that Teesside has the highest number of drug users in England outside London, with substance misuse particularly widespread in Stockton.

Heroin costs £10 for a 10gm wrap, while crack cocaine sells on the street from £10 to £20, depending on the size of the "rock".

Mrs Williams is calling for more resources and support, including more searches at Teesport to stop crack being smuggled into the country.

"We have to fight back for our communities and fight to get our kids back," said the grandmother. "Teesside, with its port, massive population and quite a lot of deprivation, is rife for this."

Children's charity Barnardo's estimates that there may be up to 60 girls as young as 14 working as prostitutes in Stockton and Thornaby.

A community fund grant of £123,000 has been awarded to Barnardo's to appoint two workers who will target "emotionally damaged" children aged 12 to 18, at risk from prostitution.

A base from which they will work has been identified, behind Stockton town centre.

Wendy Shepherd, of Barnardo's Secos project (Sexually Exploited Children on the Streets), said: "We have seen about 60 over three years, with on average 20 to 30 new faces a year.

"These young people are from the Stockton area. Young people are being sexually exploited and we have got to be proactive in preventing and stopping the abuse of young people."

Mrs Shepherd added: "There are so many social issues they are having to face - pimps-cum-boyfriends, drug misuse, homelessness, health and lack of education opportunities and abuse.

"We have now been given this money to develop a service in Stockton to look at the issue. We want to set up a multi-agency partnership. We are conducting a piece of research with the Stockton Health and Social Care that should be completed by the end of April to the middle of May."

A Stockton Borough Council spokesman said: "There is concern about the sexual exploitation of young people, and as a consequence work has been carried out by the council, Barnardo's and the police with a view to establishing the scale of this problem and taking measures to address it."

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: "These young girls are victims and we welcome any initiative that will help steer them away from prostitution."