Former prostitutes could become foster carers to young girls trapped in vice in Bradford.

A pioneering one-year pilot project has been launched by Bradford Social Services and the Barnardo's Streets and Lanes Project to give vulnerable teenagers under the age of 15 a safe place to live while they try to get out of the sex trade.

Suitable carers, including former prostitutes, will be hand-picked and vetted by specialist staff from both organisations. Couples and single women will also be considered for the positions to care for two girls who are already receiving help to get off the streets.

The idea is the brainchild of Ginny Wilkinson and colleagues at the Project, which helps children and young women abused through prostitution. She said young women who ask for help from social services are normally housed in children's homes. But the foster-care scheme is a new option.

"We are talking about young women who are already actively abused through prostitution and are at a high risk of being coerced back into that lifestyle," she said.

"It's been our findings that we need other options for safe accommodation for young girls because the phenomenon of abuse through prostitution is very complex. The carers will need to be people who have courage to do this, honesty for the girls and themselves and commitment, and who don't mind high-risk situations."

Bradford Council's adoption and fostering unit manager Jean Baker said they were looking for people who could understand and are able to cope with the undercover world of vice.

She said: "Couples, single women or ex-working women, for example, have something to offer and could be excellent, supportive role models to these vulnerable young girls."

Last year Bradford South police Vice Squad launched Operation Red Light to crackdown on vice in the city, and officers targeted pimps and kerbcrawlers.

For more information about becoming a foster carer call (01274) 754331.