He says sex work has always been connected to Manchester gay and cruising scenes and was concentrated around Canal Street, the Undercroft and Tariff Street although that has changed. With support from Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH) police have managed to help street prostitutes. Police know the women by name and look out for them. But if I was to take them around Manchester they would not know who any of the lads are,” he says. Running a brothel, being raped while working as a prostitute, paying for sex - stories from the sex trade And then there were brothels, in many cases operated with the tacit knowledge of the police as long as they were drug-free and didn’t use underage girls.

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Fergal says there is a broad spectrum of male sex workers across the city but there are two common patterns.

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Pop up brothels. Survival sex. Slavery. There's a lot more to Manchester's sex trade in 2017 than the calling cards that used to line phone boxes a decade ago. They’ve had information from people working in dilapidated properties such as carpenters and plasterers - and some of their best successes have come from nosy neighbours. Many, but not all, of these are run by violent and bullying pimps and populated by vulnerable Eastern European women. But while dealing with illegal brothels is a key focus for GMP, working on the streets is the harsh reality for many sex workers - both men and women.

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Any premises may be classified as a brothel if it is used by more than one man or woman for the purpose of prostitution, either on the same day or on different days. As Helen says: “Women do not have to come here at all so they have to know that we are trustworthy. It may only be when they’re in crisis that they ask for help. For some people there is nowhere else they can go.” In the recreation room the conversation is easy and the atmosphere is light thanks to the dedicated volunteers.

I’ve had people say ‘If I fancy him I won’t charge him’. That’s the reality for a young, out, gay sex worker. Some even see sex work almost as a right of passage. A lot has changed - and this change has brought huge challenges for those who want to protect the vulnerable. We work with a lot of lads in their mid twenties who are out having a great time in the Village, have a home but no job, with high drug and alcohol use and use sex work as something to do,” he says. “They are comfortable with it and happy with it.