London's 'sex slave market'

More than 8,000 women are working as prostitutes in brothels, saunas and massage parlours in London, a report estimated today.

Three quarters of them are foreign with many smuggled into the country from eastern Europe and Asia as sex slaves by organised crime gangs.

The Sex In The City report by the Poppy Project charity focused on "off street" prostitution.

It found 730 brothels operating in the capital and 66 supposedly legitimate lap-dancing clubs where dancers were offering sex to clients.

The sex industry in Britain is fuelled by gangmasters who bring girls in to the country to face forced prostitution.

They can make huge fortunes from their operations with a large brothel turning over up to £1 million a month.

Women smuggled in are often raped by their captors before being set to work and have their passports and travel documents taken away so they cannot flee.

They are often forced to live in terrible conditions sleeping on floors and are then farmed out and moved around sauna-style establishments and flats around the capital.

Girls can be sold between brothels for up to £10,000 and may be sold on four or five times.

Some are even advertised on the internet, which police believe is fuelling demand for the trafficking of vice girls.

Last year the Metropolitan Police's clubs and vice unit took 300 girls, 10 of whom were children, out of brothels.

Superintendent Chris Bradford said: "It's like a slave market."

The largest numbers were from Thailand, Russia, Brazil and Kosovo.

Crime gangs are increasingly turning to trafficking prostitutes because the financial gain for them is similar to the drug trade but sentences in the courts are more lenient.