Woman reveals the horrific reality of life as a prostitute

HOOKED on drugs and struggling for money, Mel felt there was only one thing she could do to survive – sex work.

She grew up in an environment of drugs, prostitution and domestic violence.

Her mum sold drugs, carried out arranged marriage scams and ran a brothel.

And a teenage Mel saw how it all worked – she helped to answer the phones, made sure the beds were ready as well as running other errands.

By the age of 24, she was addicted to heroin and started having sex for money.

“I did it to support my heroin habit,” said Mel.

“I went straight on the streets and started to work as a prostitute.

“I had no money left. That’s why I became a prostitute.

“I would go and stand on corners or wander the streets until four or five o’clock in the morning.

“I used to hear birds singing. People think that’s a wonderful sound, but when I hear birds singing now it brings back horrible memories. It happened at a time when I was walking along the streets on my own, probably high on crack, vulnerable, for goodness knows how many hours. It was a sad and dark place.”

She would sometimes stay in tower blocks taking drugs with dealers and then go back out onto the streets.

It was an unsafe place with the constant risk of being attacked or raped.

Mel was once forced to carry out a sex act on a man at gunpoint.

He had driven her to a secluded spot in his car and pulled out a knife.

On another occasion, she was assaulted in a derelict car park. And she was also held at gunpoint in a crack house for more than two hours after a row over drugs.

In addition, there were spells in prison for Mel as she committed