Sex is still openly for sale in Medway despite brothels no longer being able to advertise their services in a local newspaper.

In an investigation by the Medway Messenger, we called numbers which used to advertise in the former Medway News and Adscene.

We found most were still offering sex services but several were relying on word-of-mouth, to get new clients through the door.

Before the paper shut down in December last year, it used to run a selection of adult services adverts in the classified section, charging between £28 and £30 per advert. Previous inquiries by the Messenger, police investigations and subsequent court hearings confirmed the long-held suspicion that the ads were fronts for the sex trade.

In one edition in October last year, there were 12 such adverts, offering massage and escort services, or sex chat lines, which at the time could have netted the publishers up to £18,700 a year. The ads even ran in the 152-year-old paper's 'final commemorative edition'.

Our reporter called several numbers found in that last issue and called to see if sex was still for sale and to see how people who use their services were keeping in touch with them without looking up their numbers in the paper.

In total we called seven numbers which used to advertise in the classified section and found many were still operating in the Towns.

One call to a ‘slim and sexy woman’ called Candy, who describes herself as a ‘24/7 escort’, was answered by another girl, who said Candy no longer worked there.

When asked where Candy was, our reporter was told: "We don’t know what she’s up to now, she’s no longer working here and we don’t know where she’s advertising.

Another call, to a woman describing herself as a Classy Blonde, who was operating in the Rainham area, gave our reporter a full price list for services. The 39-year-old who goes by the name of Mandy, quoted £50 for hand relief, £50 for oral sex and £110 for a full service.

She also offers a special pampering session for £110, but moaned that she can no longer advertise her services in the publication, adding: "I have to rely on word of mouth now, as its the only way I get new clients."

In fact, before Mandy, who operates in the Station Road area, came on the phone, a man called ‘Roger’ openly discussed with our reporter that the only way the brothel now gets more clients is by word of mouth.

Roger even encouraged our reporter to pass on the phone number to like-minded people we knew, as he no longer had an avenue for advertising.

Another number from the Medway News was to Sophie, who does home visits and charges £130 for her company and describes herself as a ‘stunning escort’.

Sophie does not advertise in any other papers and said: "You get my company for £130 and we can talk about the rest later."

Other numbers called either didn’t answer or were unobtainable, but the Abby Escort Agency, which is open seven days a week and charges £130 for the first hour.

The woman who answered the phone, said: "The News stopped taking our adverts in December and now we have to rely on regular punters as can’t use other papers to advertise."

Of course, people who do use sex workers in Medway can still use the internet to find one, as there are many girls advertising their work on one particular website.

The site, which has a escort section for the South East region has lots of adverts for girls working in Medway.

Many of the descriptions are too graphic to publish but sex is readily available from a range of women.

They are offering sex in Gillingham, Chatham and Rainham.

Our investigations also led us to some information that some mild activity had resumed in the Red Light district of Chatham, as street sex workers have been seen working in the New Road late at night.

The KM Group, which publishes the Medway Messenger, attempted to buy the News and other Kent Regional News and Media, (KRNM) titles and stated it would not run the adverts, if the deal had gone through.