Mothers protest at 'street of shame'

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34072, 9 February 1976, Page 20

Mothers protest at 'street of shame'

C.V.Z. Press Assn —Copyright) ( LONDON. I Children skipped down 1 a city’s “street of;shame” on their way to school, while mothers; protested angrily at a court decision which gives prostitutes the ' right to sit openly in the , windows of their homes ; in full view of the child-

ren. As the children went toi' school in Southampton’s; Derby Road district one mother said: “This is abso-' lutely disgusting. What hope; have we left of bringing our ' kids up decently?” Southampton magistrates: have ruled that Alfrida Bur-p : ridge, aged 26. was not sol-: iciting, but simply advertis-l ing, when she sat bathed in -ed light in the window of ! ‘-er Derby Road home. The decision is a setback; to local residents who haves been fighting to clean up the' dockside area and get rid of i the red-light girls and the-kerb-crawling cars of their i; 'customers. ,h As she took her six-i; ,year-old son to school a i mother said: "The children isee these women every day

I and obviously ask what they | are doing. [ "The women sit there all [day and night, and sometimes (you even see them on the way to school in the morning. By i [the time the children come; [ out in the afternoon they arei 'all doing business.” Another mother said: “The [older children notice them particularly, and of course; they start to ask questions' 'and you have to explain what they are doing.” “How can you bring up a child in an atmosphere like that? The danger is that they will accept it as normal behaviour.” : . As she spoke to reporters 'her five-year-old son burst in-' ; to tears and kept tugging at his mother’s arm. “I’m sorry,’’ (she said, "but he has been itold he must not talk to men, [around here, and he doesn’t; [like me doing it. That’s what; it’s like to live round here.” Miss Mary Carpenter, the 'headmistress of Derby Road’s [Mount Pleasant School, which ;takes 300 pupils, said: “It’s; ■a problem which we have to [learn to live with. “Most of the pupils, aged 'five to eight, at the school [are immigrant children, and .many of the mothers are un;able to express their views! adequately. “I suppose the children get; used to seeing the women.

Thev have been brought up to it. We don’t seem to get any questions from them, but of course the parents are always complaining about it.” Meanwhile. Alfrida Buriridge was back in her bay •window attempting to make the $240 needed to pay her defence costs. She charges her clients $lO a time, and 'reckoned it would be a long night.