MEN visiting a town to pick up prostitutes are to be tracked by cameras.

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is the latest weapon in Middlesbrough's fight to clean up its streets.

They are being installed at one of the town's red light areas, where they will monitor prostitutes, their clients and car registration numbers.

Four cameras are to fitted in the Newport Road and Union Street areas, as part of a bid to drive prostitutes and punters out of town.

Middlesbrough Borough Council said the move was in direct response to complaints about the sex trade.

Council leader, Councillor Ken Walker, said: "We are determined to make Middlesbrough, and this neighbourhood in particular, a no-go zone for anti-social behaviour, particularly the kerb crawlers, who have done so much to disturb people's privacy and peace of mind.

"In areas where they have been installed, CCTV has proved a very strong antidote to all kinds of anti-social behaviour, and I am sure it will be effective and welcomed by residents."

Superintendent Graham Strange is calling for the police to be given powers to arrest kerb crawlers, endorse their licences and seize their cars.