AN ANGRY Newport resident presented a 100-name petition to the Argus, objecting to claims that underage prostitutes were working in Pill.

Last month the Argus revealed that police were cracking down on prostitutes on the streets of Pill - some of whom are as young as 14. Local councillors and some Pill residents also told the Argus they welcomed moves by police to stamp out the problem.

Pill Heritage Centre Curator Jan Preece said: "The police are right to focus on the people controlling the children and those paying for sex. The children become trapped, living under threat from their pimps. It needs stamping out."

Another resident, Helen Harris, aged 40, of Wolseley Street, said: "I have seen the girls along this road as early as 6.30pm. It's disgusting that they are walking the street. It needs to be stopped."

Steve Winfur, aged 18, of Dolphin Street, said: "They call this area 'The Frontline', because you can get anything here, from drugs to hookers. You see teenage girls on the street and kids smoking heroin."

But Emmanuel Busuttil, pictured with his petition of Pill residents, who has worked in Pill for 30 years, says the problem is not as bad as the Argus report made out.

Mr Busuttil, aged 54, of Medlock Close, Bettws, works at the New Market Warehouse in Pill. He said: "A lot of people in Pill are upset about the story because it gives the area a bad reputation.

"Customers have come in and said how unhappy they are about it. People living outside of Newport have said they are afraid to visit relatives living in Pill, and with this sort of bad publicity house prices in the area are bound to plummet.

"Yes there are problems, but there are certainly no fourteen-year-old prostitutes, as the Argus claimed."

Sergeant Geraint Evans, of Pill police, is leading the crackdown on prostitution. He said: "The majority of girls who are prostitutes are between the ages of 17 and 23. But I have documentary evidence and reports in statement form that girls as young as fourteen are involved in prostitution in Pill. We know it goes on.

"I agree with the residents of Pill that it is a frightening and unpleasant thought. But rather than pretend it's not there we are addressing the issue".

Police said the number of complaints about prostitutes had dropped over the Christmas period, and they were receiving positive feedback from local residents about the campaign.