PROSTITUTES are making residents' lives a misery in an Eastville cul-de-sac.

People living in East Park Drive say sex workers are taking customers to the site of a former garage block at the bottom of the road at night.

Residents, including children, have witnessed them at work from their upstairs windows and say the area is often strewn with condoms and needles in the mornings.

Some say they have been threatened by pimps for speaking out.

Neighbours are now calling for a light or CCTV camera to be installed to discourage prostitutes from using the area.

One resident, who asked not to be named, says he once confronted a prostitute in a parked car, only to be told "if you don't go away, you'll be sorry".

The father said: "I've stopped my child playing with a ball over there because of all the condoms. Some children ride their bikes around but it's not safe.

"The woman living next door has to call her children back into the house when cars pull up. This isn't right because children need to be able to play outside. One child even picked up a condom and said 'mummy, I've got a balloon'."

The area used by the prostitutes was filled with a block of garages until six years ago, when all but one was demolished.

Residents say the remaining gar- age, which is privately owned, still offers a secluded spot for sex workers to conduct their business.

Alley gates were installed in September to stop prostitutes using the two paths behind residents' homes.

Another resident says his two children have witnessed sexual acts being performed just a few feet away from the upstairs windows of their homes.

The man, who has one teenage child at home and another in their early 20s, said: "The council cleaners come to the end of the road and sweep up but they don't clean up the area used by the prostitutes.

"When you call the police, they say they are too busy to do anything but our children are at risk.

"If they open the window, they are overlooking what is going on.

"When we have visitors and there are prostitutes in the street, you think 'this can't be a normal society with proper law and order'."

Residents have raised the issue with Bristol City Council, police and their MP Kerry McCarthy.

The Labour MP for Bristol East recently replied to one resident, saying the need for improved lighting has been brought to the attention of the Safer Bristol Partnership, a partnership of agencies aiming to tackle crime, drugs and safety issues in the city.

A spokesman for Bristol City Council said: "We are working through the East Bristol Multi- Agency Partnership to tackle the problem. A bid for additional lighting will go to the next area housing forum on November 25.

"Residents are not expected to remove litter associated with this problem and should contact the Drug and Sex Litter Rapid Clean- Up Team which will remove drug- and sex-related litter from any location in the open-air including private land, business premises, car parks and council-owned land, on 0117 922 2100.

"The installation of CCTV has not yet been considered but would have to be preceded by public consultation to assess the level of support among residents."