Tolerance Zones in the UK

Britain's first legal red light district is on the brink of collapse ahead of a key meeting as neighbours claim that there has been a surge in drug-taking and public sex

The project in Leeds was designed to protect vulnerable women from violence by regulating prostitution.

A key architect of the scheme admitted it is on the brink of collapse. Executive councillor Mark Dobson told the Telegraph: Unless the scheme is seen to work, it will fail -- and it is failing.

The zone in Holbeck was created four years ago with the aim of stopping sex trafficking and violence and combatting sexually transmitted diseases by regulating the sex trade. Men can buy sex between 8pm and 6am without the women being arrested, and a map of the district is available online. The project in Leeds was designed to protect vulnerable women from violence by regulating prostitution The project in Leeds was designed to protect vulnerable women from violence by regulating prostitution

Last year it was revealed that the number of rapes and sex assaults reported to police have increased in the red light district. Rapes reported to police in the Beeston and Holbeck Ward -- covering a wider area than the red light zone -- were 13 in 2012, 15 in 2013 and 22 in 2014. Sex assaults reported to police are currently more than double the number before the zone was introduced.