A new city centre vice squad has been set up to spearhead a crackdown on prostitution in Bradford.

Vice squad officers are expected to move into their offices in the Tyrls police station next month when the £175,000-a-year operation swings into action.

The five-strong specialist team will be under the command of Detective Inspector Gary Bates.

They will use a mix of covert and traditional policing methods, including undercover operations and high visibility patrols, to tackle one of Bradford's most resilient problems.

The move comes in the wake of the murder of 19-year-old prostitute Rebecca Hall, whose battered body was found lying naked in the notorious red light area of Lister Hills.

Detectives are still trying to catch the killer of the mother-of-one who they believe disappeared from her home at Lydford House, off Elizabeth Street, Little Horton Green on Good Friday.

She was found in an alley in Thornton Street 13 days later.

Businesses based along Thornton Road and City Road have also written in to Bradford Council leader Margaret Eaton complaining about the effect prostitution has had on the area.

Detective Superintendent Geoff Dodd, pictured, the squad's overall commander, said the priority would be to target kerb crawlers to starve the "demand" for prostitutes.

He said: "We will be using a mixture of tactics including high-profile policing and undercover surveillance work with the sole intention of identifying pimps, kerb crawlers and prostitutes.

"People talk about prostitutes walking the streets and the damage done to business and the image of the city. I fully appreciate their concerns.

"But our experience is that the vast majority of people who use prostitutes come from Bradford, and I would urge anyone who knows these kerb crawlers to report them.

"I issue this warning to anybody who does undertake kerb crawling, or pimping - the police will always press for prosecution at court."

Det Supt Dodd said his officers would work as part of a multi-agency approach with organisations such as the Bradford Working Women's Project and the Streets and Lanes Project to help prostitutes break the "cycle of abuse" that kept them working on the streets.

Ginny Wilkinson, from Streets and Lanes, which aims to protect children and young women from prostitution, said: "We welcome the focus on the kerb crawlers and pimps because from the context of protecting children and young women they are the sex offenders, not the prostitutes."

David Shaw, head of security at Bradford College and a member of the Thornton Road Business Group which wrote to Councillor Eaton, said: "Our main problem comes from the punters who hang around waiting for the prostitutes.

"Often they, or the pimps, harass and try to chat up our female staff and students and sometimes male students which is very intimidating.

"The police have done sterling work moving them on but the problem just won't go away. Hopefully this new squad will be more successful."

Coun Eaton has agreed to organise a meeting to discuss further measures.

Her deputy, Councillor Richard Wightman, said: "We are delighted that the police have decided to take this decision themselves to see how the situation can be improve immediately.

"That does not stop the police and the Council, as part of the Crime and Disorder partnership, talking about how to improve things in the future."