LOCAL people who remember the large problem prostitution was in Bolton town centre have good reason to pay tribute to the Urban Outreach organisation.

A purge five years ago by the charity working alongside police cleaned up a large swathe of the town, slashing the number of prostitutes working from 140 to fewer than 20.

Today, Urban Outreach is still making a difference, offering guidance, help and support to women in street sex work. Dave Bagley and the team tackle issues that most people refuse to even acknowledge, and perhaps we should all be very grateful for the organisation’s existence.