FEARS surrounding the disappearance of two Ipswich prostitutes have forced some working girls off the streets today.The number of prostitutes working in the Portman Road area has fallen since Gemma Adams, 25, was reported missing on Wednesday.

FEARS surrounding the disappearance of two Ipswich prostitutes have forced some working girls off the streets today.

The number of prostitutes working in the Portman Road area has fallen since Gemma Adams, 25, was reported missing on Wednesday.

Her disappearance came exactly two weeks after 19-year-old Tania Nicol also went missing.

Both were heading into town to work as prostitutes and police have said they are “extremely” concerned for their welfare.

As police continued high-profile patrols of the area last night, one teenage prostitute said there was an air of fear in the area.

The 17-year-old from Ipswich, who wished to remain nameless, said: “I am a bit shaky at the moment and I think it is putting some of the girls off coming out because I haven't seen a lot about the last couple of nights.”

The girl said she always tried to ensure her safety when working and was carrying an attack alarm as an added precaution.

She added: “I always think about who I get in a car with and if I don't like the look of someone I won't get in their car.

“I haven't noticed anyone dodgy and I haven't got a clue what has happened to them (Gemma and Tania).”

The 17-year-old said she had been working in Ipswich for about a year and knew both women.

Police continued questioning residents and prostitutes last night as part of Operation Keystone.

They asked where people had been between 9pm on Tuesday and 7am on Wednesday and asked if they knew, or had seen Miss Adams.

Officers from across the county are working on the operation and last night Pc Mick Marlow and Pc Phil Smith of the Bury St Edmunds Roads Policing Unit, were patrolling on foot in the Burlington Road area.

Pc Marlow said: “They (the prostitutes) are worried but as far as they are concerned they have got to be out there to make a living.

“A lot are saying they need to work because they need drugs.”

The last confirmed sighting of Miss Adams, of Blenheim Road, Ipswich, was at 10pm on Tuesday in Victoria Street.

The last confirmed sighting of Miss Nicol was when she left her home in Woolverstone Close at 10pm on October 31.

Anyone with information should call Suffolk police on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

following an earlier incident in Hadleigh Road, Ipswich.

Police said the man was not being held in connection with the disappearances of Miss Nicol and Miss Adams.

n Do you have a message for the girl's friends and family? Write to: Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail: eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk>