A two-year drive to rid Bedford Hill of prostitutes has been so successful that police have not received a single complaint in the past three months.

A panel for Bedford Safer Neighbourhoods Team has voted to drop the issue from its ward priorities after only one in 75 residents surveyed believed it to still be a problem.

The dramatic decrease in prostitutes and their clients in the area, which at one time was synonymous with street prostitution, is thanks to numerous arrests and implementation of safety measures such as CCTV and lighting since 2008.

Sergeant Eric Ostrowski said: "In 2008 we were receiving daily reports of activity relating to prostitution in and around Bedford Hill.

"So far, the last call the team had relating to prostitution was over three months ago.

"We don’t think for an instant that prostitution in the area has completely gone away and will continue to monitor and deal with any calls made to police.

"However, things have vastly improved over the last two years - to such a degree that most residents no longer believe it to be the problem it once was."

Prostitution was made a ward priority in June 2008 after women reported being approached by kerb-crawlers and finding condoms and other debris in their gardens.

Since then, several prolific prostitutes have been arrested – and 39 kerb-crawlers issued with ASBOs.

Police also conducted high-visibility patrols, with CCTV cameras installed and foliage cut back.

The project was conducted in partnership with the council, Lambeth Police, the parks police and the Metropolitan Police vice unit.

Bedford SNT will continue to prioritise tackling burglary in the area - particularly those in communal buildings.

Their new priority is stamping out drinking, cannabis smoking and other anti-social behaviour on Tooting Bec Common through high-visibility and plain clothes patrols.