WHATEVER laws are put in place to try and bury it, prostitution will always find its way to the surface. Sad though that may be, it is a fact of life.

The Government is, therefore, right to strive for a compromise which accepts the inevitability of prostitution while making it safer for the women involved.

Police forces such as Cleveland have been correct to take a tough line against street prostitution by naming and shaming kerb-crawlers. But the real criminals are the pimps and parasites who prey on vulnerable women - and children.

By allowing small teams of women to work legally in licensed brothels, personal safety should be increased, and it will be harder for organised criminals to operate in a way which spreads misery.

It is, of course, a controversial path to take and the Conservative Party has criticised the Government proposals, arguing that more needs to be done to tackle the underlying social problems causing prostitution.

Of course that is the case. But a solution will not be found overnight and, in the meantime, prostitutes are in danger every time they go out to work.

As long as prostitutes are given the right kind of support to find other ways to make a living, as long as the correct controls are put in place to ensure communities are not disrupted, and as long as pimps are not making fat profits, it is a compromise which we believe is worth pursuing.