A WOMAN who escaped horrific violence in the sex industry is being helped in her bid for a normal life by MP Peter Kyle.

Zara Skye, not her real name, was beaten by her former partner and sold for sex under his control.

After three years of being forced into sex trafficking in London, she became pregnant.

Three months later she fled from her partner to protect her baby.

In February she moved to Brighton but has since received a letter from the city council saying she may be made homeless.

Now Mr Kyle, Labour MP for Hove, is urging the council to provide the support she needs to recover from her past.

Zara, 30, is in emergency accommodation in Hove with her daughter Milly, now two. She lives in the same house as people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction which makes her feel unsettled with a young child.

She said: “My mum was a victim of domestic violence which forced me to become homeless. I stayed in a hostel in London where I was targeted.

“My perpetrator used my homelessness as a leverage to groom me into working for the sex industry.”

Zara was forced to sleep with others to pay the bills for her and her previous partner.

She said: “As long as he provided the roof over my head, I had to pay the bills. I was in that for three years and struggling to get out – I knew if I left I would be homeless.

“At one point I managed to leave but I couldn’t find affordable housing or a job. He tracked me down and found me. At that point he was the only thing I had and we began a relationship again.

“I fell pregnant with Milly, but he was still abusive so I had to flee.

“This is a sex trafficking ring we are talking about. He knew others in it. Once he knew where I was, they knew.”

Zara tried to move elsewhere in London but he kept up the pursuit.

She said: “I tried to let him see the baby with provisions, but he would turn up, under the influence, despite me asking to meet in a public place. He would pick fights despite the baby being there.

“I have shown years worth of documents to the council in Brighton showing the violence and the homelessness I have been through and I am just desperate for a more permanent and secure home so I can start my life.”

The council told Zara it was considering making her intentionally homeless based on her situation.

But Mr Kyle said housing is fundamental to a person’s stability and urged the council to help her.

He said: “This case epitomises vulnerability and our council should be striving to offer her all support. People worry we don’t have the means to support those coming here, but it’s a two-way street – people suffering violence in Brighton and Hove also flee this city.”

A council spokesman said: “We are still in discussion with ‘Zara’ and have not yet made a decision on whether she has made herself intentionally homeless.

“The letter we gave Zara is a part of our process and outlines why we’re considering making the decision. We met Zara and her advocates again last week to go through her application and offered an extra week to send us any further supporting information she wants us to look at.

“Whatever the decision, we will do everything we can to help Zara resolve her housing situation.”