MURDERED teenager Carly Bateman was just one of a dozen teenage prostitutes who regularly sold sex on the streets of Bolton.

The 17-year-old became embroiled in the seedy world of vice two years ago to fund her heroin addiction.

But drugs is not the only reason the girls solicit themselves. BEN Crime Reporter Lucie McFall spoke to two young prostitutes to find out why they ply their trade on street corners in Bolton every night.

BY day, they look like normal teenagers. Dressed in the latest High Street fashions, they enjoy hanging around the town centre, shopping and meeting friends for a chat.

But at night, the girls stand on street corners touting for business in Bolton's notorious red light district.

Girl A is aged just 16 and her friend, Girl B, is just 12 months older.

Even their friends are unaware of the dangerous double life they lead.

Wearing mini-skirts and cropped tops, they stand together in Shiffnall Street every night waiting for punters.

Pony-tailed Girl A said: "We lead a normal life during the day. We are like other teenagers. We enjoy doing what they do."

Girl B added: "I sleep some days. Mostly I go out with my friends."

The two girls, who look much younger than their ages, have been working on the streets of Bolton for the last six months.

They come out every night at around 7pm and often work into the early hours.

Prices vary between £10 and £30 and the teenagers can make up to £200 a night.

Girl A said: "We stay out as long as we can be bothered or until we have earned enough. Sometimes it can be 11pm or another time it could be 2am."

They live in a private hostel and admit they became interested in prostitution when they saw how much money other teenagers were earning every night.

Girl B added: "We don't get enough money from our benefits and I asked the other girls what it was like. You see them coming home with lots of money and it is easy money." Girl A said: "I was almost raped the first night I worked. I went home and cried all night but next day I came back to give it another go."

Girl B said: "I used to look at prostitutes when I was younger and wonder how they could do it. Now I am doing it.

"Once you start, you can't stop. You get used to the money. Sometimes you say 'this will be my last day' but then you need some money, so you go out again."

The two teenagers, who were both born and raised in Bolton, are from troubled backgrounds.

They fled their family homes and the domestic violence which had blighted their lives from an early age several years ago.

Girl B said: "I left my home in an ambulance and have never gone back. I don't keep in contact with them at all."

The two admit that they are scared in the wake of the murder of Carly Bateman but not enough to stay indoors after dark.

The teenager was strangled and her body dumped in an alleyway off Crawford Avenue, The Haulgh, on Saturday night.

The two girls both knew Carly and saw her last Friday, the day before she was brutally murdered. Girl A said: "You meet some weirdos -- men who want you to call them Daddy. Since Carly was killed, I have been even more frightened."

Girl B said: "Sometimes, if the man is too weird, I've jumped out at traffic lights."

For safety reasons, the girls stand in pairs and never go back to houses.

They always check the vehicles do not have a locking system on the doors and there is no one else in the car.

The girls also use different names than their own in case they bump into punters in the town centre while they are with their friends.

Girl A said: "One man came up to me, asked me if I was all right and if I was working. I just said 'you have got the wrong person mate'.

"Some of my friends have sussed me out but the rest don't know."

But both girls say they do not want to make a long-term career of their life on the street.

Girl B said: "I want my own council house. I am saving some of my money."

Girl A added: "I'd just like somewhere nice to live."