KERB crawlers are approaching schoolgirls in a residential area -- near Bolton's notorious red light district -- where a teenage vice girl was found strangled.

Men are cruising in their cars in a dimly-lit road and have been propositioning youngsters in their desperate search for sex, say angry residents.

Detectives hunting the killer of Carly Bateman are investigating reports that young girls as young as 16 are being confronted by the men in Clive Street, on the outskirts of Bolton town centre. The street is only yards away from the town's red light area.

The row erupted after Cllr Frank White said he believed allowing the girls to operate in the traditional Shiffnall Street area was better for the prostitutes, residents and the local authority.

He said it was "unfortunate" that kerb crawlers were now straying from the area and approaching innocent girls in streets nearby.

Cllr White is calling for Government action to permit licensed brothels.

People who have moved into Clive Street, less than 100 yards from the red light area, and those who live in The Haulgh -- 300 yards away -- say the working girls in Shiffnall Street do not stay in that one road.

One resident said: "I fail to see the reasoning behind Cllr White's view that moving the girls to an area where they already operate is the answer.

"Prostitutes are commonplace at all hours of the day and night in the area of Shiffnall Street. But my 16-year-old daughter has also been approached on numerous occasions within yards of our front door by men looking for prostitutes."

"Cars cruise the area regularly and are often spotted parking in a cul-de-sac to wait for girls."

Last week, vice girl Carly was found murdered in an alley at the back of Crawford Avenue in The Haulgh. The 17-year-old had been addicted to drugs. Detectives are still hunting her killer.

Her murder has highlighted Bolton's expanding vice trade and has led to calls for better protection for the girls involved. Keeping them in one place away from residents has been suggested as an ideal "solution".

Cllr White said today: "The law means we cannot form an official red light area in Bolton, but we would prefer them to work in an area which limits their contact with residents.

"Shiffnall Street is largely non-residential and closes down at night. It's unfortunate that kerb crawlers are driving around Clive Street -- that is something we do not want.

"The best solution would be to follow the continental lead by keeping a firm grip on the sex industry and confining it to controlled areas." "If any prostitute or kerb crawler is spotted around there, they will be instantly dealt with. No-one can guarantee that prostitution will not take place in Clive Street or in any residential area."