Police raided a brothel in a quiet Oxford street yesterday as part of a nationwide crackdown on the trafficking of women across Europe for the sex trade.

Neighbours had complained about the constant stream of clients at the detached house in All Saints Road, Headington, for the past three months before the raid at 2pm.

A woman from Birmingham was detained and questioned before she was released.

Police believed women from Eastern Europe were working at the house and yesterday's raid was part of Operation Parameter, which investigates human trafficking.

Headington and Wood Farm neighbourhood officer Pc Jerry Kidd said: "The one girl that was in the house today has told us that she is here of her own free will.

"But the intelligence we gathered in the build-up to this operation says Eastern European girls have been seen working at this address as well.

"Some of these girls are brought to this country, thinking that they are coming to a job, but that does not exist, and when they get here they are forced into the sex trade."

Pc Kidd added that neighbours had complained about antisocial behaviour at the house, with people arriving and leaving late at night.

When the raid took place, one plainclothes officer approached the house. As the door was opened, 17 uniformed officers stormed inside.

The woman in the house at the time, thought to be in her 20s, admitted she was working there as a prostitute, said Pc Kidd, but was not arrested.

Pc Kidd said: "We will continue to carry out raids like this as and when the need arises, to stop this from happening in Oxford."

Neighbours welcomed the raid. Some said they believed the brothel was operating for more than a year.

Olivier St Louis said: "We've known about the brothel for ages around here. We always see taxis coming and picking girls up and dropping them off.

"It's been like that for more than a year now. There was a letter sent out by the local residents' association a couple of months ago, complaining about car doors being slammed late at night there.

"I'm glad the police have moved in to close it down, as no-one wants it in their neighbourhood."

Brian Killey, 66, of nearby Lime Walk, said: "I've seen people coming in and out of there all the time. I can't believe that there was a brothel around here, it's a quiet residential area.

"These sort of places shouldn't be allowed and I'm glad the police have stepped in to close it down."

At the same time as the Oxford operation, officers in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, raided the home of the owner of the house in All Saints Road.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said no arrests had been made in Aylesbury but the investigation was continuing.

Last November, police raided a brothel at a house in Middle Way, Summertown, after complaints from neighbours.