Police in Bradford have warned cash-strapped university students considering selling sex of the “dangerous implications” of the trade.

Blast, which works with sexually-exploited boys and young men in Bradford and Leeds, said male university students were increasingly considering selling sex as an “easy way” to make money.

Project co-ordinator Phil Mitchell said the charity received calls from male university students each September inquiring about how to become a sex worker legally and safely.

Inspector Karen Ford, of the Bradford District Safeguarding Unit, said: “I can fully appreciate that money is at the forefront of many students’ minds, particularly during this current climate of economic uncertainty. Becoming involved in the sex trade and opening themselves to sexual exploitation, however, is absolutely the wrong way to overcome their situation.

“There are extremely dangerous implications, not least in respect of their personal safety.”