London Prostitutes 'Cleaned From the Streets'

The London Olympics are not big business for everyone -- sex workers say they are being cleared from the streets around the stadium to make the area more presentable for the Games.
While Britain's limp economy hopes for an Olympic boost, police in Newham, the deprived east London borough that is home to the stadium, have closed some 80 brothels in the 18 months to March, according to a study by a local councillor.

"For the last two years we've seen a real increase in police activity in relation to sex work in the Olympic host boroughs," said Georgina Perry, who runs Open Doors, a government project supporting east London prostitutes.

"Some of the women who sell sex have experienced so many brothel closures that they are now working on the street, and that is a much less safe place," she told AFP.

"Street women are experiencing a lot of police requests for them to move on from the area. They're not wanted there during the Olympic Games."