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‘I do my sister’s hair so she can s*** old men’: Crack-addicted prostitutes lift the lid on the UK’s seedy legal red light district

Sex worker sisters, who roam the streets of the first legal red light zone in Leeds, reveal what they do for drugs money

A PROSTITUTE, who works on the streets of the UK's first legal red light district, lifts the lid on what it's like to sell her body in order to fund her crack addiction.

Sammie Jo and her sister Stacey, 26, work alongside around 30 other women who roam the streets Holbeck, Leeds.

 Sammie Jo is a prostitute who works the streets of Leeds in the legal red light zone
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Sammie Jo is a prostitute who works the streets of Leeds in the legal red light zoneCredit: BBC

The women are part of a new BBC Three documentary which follows the lives of prostitutes working in the UK's first managed red light district.

Sammie Jo first started as a sex worker while living in Hull with her then wife who was "rattling" for drugs to feed her addiction.

She threw Sammie Jo a packet of condoms and told her to "go and earn some money", after earning £100 after her first encounter, she continued to walk the streets.

 She tells the new BBC Three show Sex, Drugs, Murder: Life in the Red Light Zone about exactly what she does to fund her drug habit
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She tells the new BBC Three show Sex, Drugs, Murder: Life in the Red Light Zone about exactly what she does to fund her drug habitCredit: BBC

She explains: "Then a car stopped and said 'jump in gorgeous' and he asked me what I was offering and I just asked what he wanted because I didn't know how to say it or go about it.

"'He said 'everything, how much is that?' so I said '£100' and he gave me £100."

 And about how she helps her younger sister Stacey with getting ready to work the streets alongside her
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And about how she helps her younger sister Stacey with getting ready to work the streets alongside herCredit: BBC

Now, Sammie Jo admits to producers of the BBC Three show Sex, Drugs, Murder: Life in the Red Light Zone that she gets a "buzz" from the money.

And she can earn anywhere between £20 and £2000 from one client who's fetish is to be wrapped up in duct tape, with a plastic bag over his head, while having his nipples clamped.

"I can come out with £2,000 from him, from an hour's session," she explains.

The documentary follows a group of women who walk the streets of Holbeck in search of money to fund their drug addictions.

While many people might not have heard of The Holbeck scheme it has been around since October 2014 the plan is continue it indefinitely after it was hailed a success.

According to the authorities, the scheme has improved the safety of prostitutes, despite a recent murder on the streets, and the number of complaints have reduced by a third.

But those currently working on the streets are worried because they face tough competition from immigrants who are arriving in the country and selling themselves.

 Stacey, who also features on the show, says her crack addiction has got out of control and she needs the money
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Stacey, who also features on the show, says her crack addiction has got out of control and she needs the moneyCredit: BBC

Sammie Jo admits she is hooked on crack cocaine and her addiction has become severe she can't work the streets without it.

"I have this every single night before I go out. I've got self-confidence."

Sadly, Sammie Jo says she doesn't have a choice about working Holbeck's street corners.

"I've got no choice when I'm an addict. I'll have to go shop lifting or turn to burglary. I don't want to get back there."

 Often Sammie Jo will wait for a customer with her sister to ensure she's safe
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Often Sammie Jo will wait for a customer with her sister to ensure she's safeCredit: BBC

Another woman who features on the show, is Sammie Jo's younger sister Stacey, 26, who's crack habit has become more serious. 

To help raise the cash she needs, Sammie Jo admits to helping her do little sister's hair in hope of attracting more customers but she finds the routine "heartbreaking".

 Sammie Jo also admits to taking crack every day and says she can't work without it
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Sammie Jo also admits to taking crack every day and says she can't work without itCredit: BBC

"When I'm doing her hair, I dread it," she says.

"She's my baby sister and I'm doing it so she can go and shag dirty old men for money."

The 26-year-old says her older sister frequently escorts her to the customer's car and waits there until they return.

"I get in a car with a punter she will stand there and not move until I get back. She is proper paranoid."

Sammie Jo adds: "It breaks my heart, but she's becoming really bad on crack"

 According to authorities, the scheme is a great success, despite there being a recent murder on the streets of Holbeck
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According to authorities, the scheme is a great success, despite there being a recent murder on the streets of HolbeckCredit: BBC

Stacey continues: "I hate it but if you need the money you need the money and you go and do it."
Although prostitution isn't illegal, the acts surrounding it, such as soliciting and kerb-crawling are.

But according to the rules set out by Safer Leeds, a partnership between the police and the council, officers will look the other way to any activities providing they take place between 7pm and 7am.

 is on BBC Three Tuesdays from 4pm

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