They said the problem had become much worse in the past few weeks with parents constantly hassled.
In 2014, Hull became the first UK city to create a “prostitute-free zone”, allowing sex workers or kerb crawlers caught in the area to be prosecuted.
Despite the ban, the problem hasn't gone away and residents said in recent weeks they had seen around 15 to 20 prostitutes on Hessle Road at one time.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It is beyond a joke now. You cannot stop in the street now without getting propositioned. They even do it when I’m with my girlfriend.
“When I am going to work in the morning I have even seen parents being approached when their children are with them. I don’t know how they explain what is happening to their children.
“There are usually a minimum of six girls working but at the weekend there could be 15-20.
“They are not just having sex in cars either. They do it in alleyways, car parks and behind buildings.
"There are signs up saying prostitution will not be tolerated but the women just ignore it."
Another resident also spoke of his concerns over the rising number of sex workers in Hessle Road –
a busy road just two miles west of the centre – again.
He told the Hull Daily Mail: “I saw one prostitute was in the doorway of a Chinese takeaway. The owners must be sick of it.
“I was approached by a woman in her 50s who asked if I wanted to come back to hers.
“Some people I know were laughing and asked me why I was with a prostitute but I didn’t think it was funny. It was embarrassing.
“It is getting worse again and they’re hanging out right down the whole street.
“I don’t think you can criticise the police as their resources are stretched but something needs to be done.”
Another resident says she has also witnessed parents being propositioned as they take their children to school.
The woman told the Hull Daily Mail: “I am sick of it. In a morning when I go to shop there are two working on the road actually shouting at the men passing and chasing after men going into the shops.”
There are two primary schools close to the road – Adelaide Primary and Newington Academy – as well as two nurseries.
A shop owner on the street said: “I’ve had several standing around my shop door. You can’t do anything about it because they’ll come in and cause trouble for us.
“Several prostitutes like to hang around shops disrupting the owners’ business and making customers, especially the men, feel unwelcome.
“You will also find used condoms down the alleyway by the flats in Eton Street.”
The landmark 2014 ruling in Hull introduced section 222 orders, meaning sex workers and kerb crawlers found loitering, soliciting, or having sex could face arrest.
More recently plain-clothes officers have been employed to catch people approaching prostitutes and using CCTV to gather evidence.
Ward Councillor Daren Hale insisted everything is being done to clamp down on the number of sex workers which “causes misery for residents.”
Inspector Kirsty Tock, of the Hull central community policing team, added: “Hessle Road remains our main focus and, at the moment, we are tackling those seeking out sex workers.
“We are continuing to carry out patrols and using the injunctions to prevent prostitution on Hull’s streets.
“We have changed our approach recently and are using plain-clothes officers. We are also using CCTV to collect further evidence."
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