Sutton Council is to ban advertising in publications that carry sex advertisements, as part of a campaign to protect trafficked women.

Chief executive Paul Martin confirmed the authority would back the decision to ban adverts for massage parlours and escort agencies, such as those run in South London Press (SLP) and the Sutton Advertiser series.

The move comes as leading members of Lambeth Council, Lambeth police, and NHS Lambeth vowed to withdraw advertising from newspapers like the SLP, until they stop publishing sex adverts.

The campaign, spearheaded by Croydon Community Against Trafficking (CCAT), is based on strong evidence from anti-trafficking campaigners that 85 per cent of women working as off-street prostitutes in London are not UK nationals, and the vast majority of them are trafficked.

Many of the brothels they work in are advertised in local newspapers as massage parlours, and more than 40 per cent of men who access off-street prostitutes do so through the local media, according to a Government report.

The Sutton Guardian, and its publisher Newsquest, took the lead in banning all adult advertisements in July 2008, having been persuaded of the clear link between the ads and women being trafficked for sex.

Paul Martin, chief executive of Sutton Council, said: “Sutton Council would not itself include adverts of this kind in its own publications.

“It supports newspapers that take a similar, socially responsible view.”

CCAT has said newspapers carrying ads for brothels were just as guilty for sustaining “a vile trade in human life” as the men who use them, and should also be held criminally responsible.

Last year, Detective Inspector Kevin Hylind, who heads up the Met’s vice unit, said newspapers were directly fuelling the misery of thousands of women trapped in the sex trade.

Government ministers are now considering criminalising publishers who run adverts for massage parlours and saunas.

Leader of Sutton Conservatives Paul Scully said: “This modern-day slave trade is grotesque and needs the strongest action from Government.”

Lib Dem Leader coun Sean Brennan said: “The Liberal Democrats in Sutton strongly support this campaign, which highlights the fact the prostitution is not a victimless crime.

“We hope the campaign will encourage other publishers to take similar action.”

A spokesman for the Sutton Advertiser said: “The Sutton Advertiser is careful to obey the law and observe all the industry guidelines as well as operating extra safeguards.

“For example, advertisers must provide proof of their identity and residence and have a telephone with a landline.

"They must also pay in a way that can be traced back to them, rather than using cash.

“This means that, if the police suspect trafficking, they have a much better chance of bringing law-breakers to justice.

“To the best of our knowledge, all our advertisers are legitimate businesses operating within the law.

“The Sutton Guardian accepted the same sort of adverts for a long time, and is entitled to refuse them, just as the Sutton Advertiser is entitled to accept them.”