Earl's Court in danger of becoming 'Amsterdam of London'

Often working in groups of four or five, the advertisers - who have been described by police as the bottom rung of the vice trade - put up the cards while their lookouts keep watch for police.

And, although four people have been arrested in the last fortnight, one of Kensington's top police officers admitted the gangs are become 'a nuisance'.

Inspector Paul Blanchflower said: "It is more of a problem now because it used to be harmless individuals doing this in years gone by but now it's organised gangs.

"They are a bloody nuisance and they do upset local people. We and the local authority are very keen to clear this problem up."

Police and Kensington and Chelsea Council are also trying different ways of tackling the problem, including logging the numbers of cards they take down in an effort to home in on the brothels being advertised.

The council and Mayor of London Boris Johnson are also lobbying phone companies to reduce the number of phone boxes in the area and have numbers which are advertised illegally struck off. Insp Blanchflower said these efforts have, so far, been unsuccessful.

Tackling the problem has also been made a priority for the Earl's Court police safer neighbourhood team.

Trudy Reid, who lives in nearby Penywern Road, said: "We are all just fed up with it. We walk down to the end of our street and suddenly it feels like we're in Amsterdam.

"The police say they are doing something about it but what they need to do is lock these people up."

Brian Plummer, who also lives in Penywern Road, said: "It's like a pathetic game of cat-and-mouse. The cleaners take these things down and, within minutes, there they are back up again. It would be laughable if these cards weren't so offensive."