THE shocking extent of child prostitution on the streets of the North-East was revealed yesterday.

According to new research, more than 140 prostitutes and rent boys under the age of 18 are operating in Cleveland - a statistic which confirms Teesside's reputation as the sex trade capital of the North.

It was revealed that, on average, prostitutes are aged just 14 when they first take to the streets of Teesside to ply their trade.

A one-day conference on the sex trade, held at the Oakwood Centre in Eaglescliffe, Stockton, also heard how the majority of kerb crawlers caught paying for sex on Teesside are from outside the area.

The figures were the result of research by the Barnardo's children's charity and Cleveland Police.

Wendy Shepherd, of Barnardo's Sexual Exploitation of Children on the Street project, told delegates that 142 children - 130 girls and 12 boys - aged between 12 and 18 were selling their bodies on Teesside.

She said: "The appalling fact is the starting average age of a prostitute on Teesside is just 14.

"They are being coerced into it from a very early age.

"I have known young people who have been given drugs and forced into addiction first. Then they are told the best way to pay for the habit is through prostitution.

"Prostitution is child abuse, as simple as that. Even grown women, who may convince themselves they are doing it willingly, are being abused."

She spoke of women being "battered and bruised, raped and murdered".

Delegates are hoping that a Government White Paper on sex offending will impose tougher penalties on those who pay for sex with minors.

The reforms, if passed by Parliament, could lead to life imprisonment for sex with children under 13, up to ten years when they are between 14 and 16 and five years for paid sex with a 17-year-old.

Research conducted by Inspector Gary Gamesby of Cleveland Police, and published yesterday, showed that, of 44 kerb crawlers questioned, 88 per cent were from outside Middlesbrough.

Those caught had jobs ranging from mechanics to surveyors and company directors, with nearly two thirds aged between 30 and 49 and just over half married.

Insp Gamesby said: "More work is needed to deter these men from travelling to the town."

Police say their recent "name and shame" campaigns on Teesside account for comparatively few local men being caught.