Police today began giving out 1,000 cards featuring a telephone number to businesses and students as part of their on-going battle against vice in the city.

It is the first time Bradford's vice squad has issued a designated freephone number for the public to report vice problems on.

From today businesses in Bradford's red light area in Listerhills and either side of Thornton Road will be handed the cards.

They feature the number 0800 1382279 and a list of information the police need the person to collect before they make a report - from the location and time to the description of the alleged offender.

Female students from Bradford University and Bradford College, who suffer approaches from kerbcrawlers, will be given the cards as part of the campaign.

It is the latest weapon in squad's Operation Red Light initiative to crack down on kerbcrawlers, pimps and prostitutes in the city. Uniformed and undercover vice officers have targeted pimps and kerbcrawlers using high visibility patrols and covert surveillance techniques since the operation's launch in September.

Legislation introduced in the Police and Criminal Justice Act in October gave them powers to arrest kerbcrawlers on site.

Vice squad officer Sergeant Simon Beldon, pictured, said: "At the moment members of the public don't have a point of contact within the police in relation to vice problems in Bradford, aside from just ringing the station's general number.

"This freephone number is for people to ring with information about vice in general, but especially about kerbcrawlers or pimps. It's deliberately aimed at these two groups within vice, as we know who the prostitutes are and where they work.

"The kerbcrawlers and the pimps are not always as obvious to the police.

"We need the public's assistance so that we can target these individuals and root them out."

He added: "If people ring and give us specific information using the points set down on the card, they will be allocated an officer to investigate.

"With businesses we are looking at information about persistent kerb crawlers or pimps outside their premises.

"With students, it might be if they're walking around the university campus and kerbcrawlers are harassing them. Take down their registration number and the date and time and call it in."