Anti-sex trafficking campaigners have slammed local newspapers in this borough which continue to fuel the exploitation of vulnerable women by running sex advertisements in their papers.

The Croydon Guardian, and publisher Newsquest’s 305 titles nationwide, took the lead in banning all adult advertisements in July 2008, having been persuaded of the clear link between the ads and women being trafficked for sex.

But eight months on The Croydon Advertiser and its sister paper The Post are continuing to take money from those advertising women for sex, such as adult massage adverts for “Stunning international ladies” and “Japanese and chinese ladies: discreet services”.

A report into the sex industry commissioned by Harriet Harman, Minister for Women and Equality, shows over 40 per cent of men who access off-street prostitutes do so through the local media.

Evidence suggests about 85 per cent of the women working as offstreet prostitutes in London are not UK nationals, and the vast majority of them are trafficked.

The Croydon Advertiser is mentioned by name on a website for men interested in visiting brothels, showing a clear link between men accessing sex services through their local newspapers.

The unnamed man visited a Chinese woman named Kelly at a brothel he found advertised in the Croydon Advertiser.

He visited the brothel in West Croydon at 3pm on Sunday December 7.

In a field report he writes: “Found number in Croydon Advertiser / Post, full page of adverts near the back.

“I have been to this place (although it moves around Croydon) many times.

“They said there is only one girl on the premises due to police raids but another is only a phone call away.”

He paid £60 for a 40 minute visit.

Campaigners warn that off-street brothels contain women and girls from around the world who have been lured from their homes with the promise of a better life.

Once in the UK many are kept as prisoners and are exposed to intimidation and physical violence that often includes rape.

A spokesman from local organisation Croydon Community Against Trafficking (CCAT) said if men were unable to access sex adverts in local newspapers, accessing brothels online through their work and home computers would become more risky for them.

He said: “We are thrilled that Newsquest, who have already taken a principled stand in the fight against trafficking, are now initiating a campaign to press other newspapers to do the same.

“The media, by advertising sex establishments, has been complicit in trafficking for sexual exploitation by allowing victims to be advertised in their family publications.

“Disrupting the buying of sex is crucial in the fight against sex trafficking; we have been campaigning for nearly four years for all newspapers to remove these adverts and Newsquest have been the only company who have listened.

“We truly hope that Newsquest’s campaign will finally force other papers in the borough, such as the Croydon Advertiser and Post, to follow their example and realise that they are helping to sustain a vile trade in human life.

A spokeswoman from the Poppy Project, a charity that helps women trafficked into prostitution, said: “We were delighted last year when Newsquest decided to withdraw ‘adult services’ advertisements from its newspapers.

“It is not acceptable in the 21st century that women’s bodies can be bought and sold, and even less acceptable that local businesses are benefitting financially from this continued exploitation of women in the sex industry.

“We encourage other news agencies to stand up and take responsibility in a similar way.”

The publishers of the Croydon Advertiser declined to comment.