Footage shows dozens of alleged prostitutes being rounded up and taken to the police station as Thai police launched a red light district blitz.

Officers snared dozens of women standing by the the beach in Pattaya, Thailand, at 10pm. They said they targeted women with ''suspicious behaviour'' who were wearing revealing clothes and loitering on the beach front - a popular area for tourists to find local girls.

Cops then frogmarched 45 young women and transsexuals to the police station to have their details taken and undergo drug tests.

Pictures show the women sitting cross-legged on the floor of the station as they wait to have their photographs taken. They were later released just after midnight.

Cops have been conducting regular raids over the last year as they try to transform the notoriously seedy city into a lucrative family holiday destination.

Petty crime and violence involving tourists and hookers working on the street is a regular occurrence in the city, but authorities are desperate to stamp it out and stop the negative image it shows.

Police Major General Apichai Krobtech said that targeting women and holding their details on record was the most effective way to deal with it.

He said: ''I ordered Pattaya City Police to investigate and prevent prostitution in the beach area. This will help to stop all forms of harm to tourists and their property.We have taken the details of all of the people brought into the station tonight and this will help us prevent crimes and solve them in the future.''