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Kayleigh has lost count of the number of times she has been sexually assaulted at work.

Strangers fondle her and men grab her bum, peppering her with crude comments.

To them, nothing is off limits.

"Every night that I work, I'm made to feel like an object," she says.

Kayleigh isn't a vice girl or a lapdancer.

She pockets 30p-a-pop selling shots in Newcastle's bars and clubs.

In an eye-opening expose, shot sellers have revealed the torrid abuse they endure selling booze for barely minimum wage.

(Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)

Collectively, they paint a picture of those with the power to stop what Northumbria Police says is a sex offence turning a blind eye.

But complaining to punters risks losing sales.

And as girls work entirely on commission, they often feel under pressure to forget about it and flirt with "handsy" punters in order to earn cash.

They say shifts are characterised by sexist language, unwanted touching and propositions.

"Whilst working, a group of stags tried to pressure me into kissing the groom," says one girl.

"[They] then offered me money to lick my boobs and to flash my big a**e, before asking how much it would cost to sleep with me.

(Image: Mirrorpix)

"When I politely declined, they began shouting obscenities at me, calling me a tart."

Another says a typical shift involved blokes "lifting my dress, touching and slapping my bum and my boobs".

ChronicleLive spoke with eight different women and men who have - or still - sell shots.

The role, they say, is like a barman but without the safety barrier of the actual bar.

Instead they balance colourful trays of acid green Sourz and fizzling amber Jägerbombs high above their heads, twisting and turning to avoid flailing bodies and stray arms sluggish with drink, in packed nightspots.

Add to the cocktail customers drunk from a night on the tiles, their actions can become intimidating and predatory.

"The worst time that sticks out was just when I was talking to this old man, who must have been like 60," says one girl.

"He grabbed my wrists and was just like,'C’mon, give me a kiss' and would not let me go.

"He was saying, 'Come here sweetheart, such lovely red lipstick' and pulling me closer and holding onto my wrists really hard."

Their collective complaints raise concerns over safety - especially since in many ways they are in no-man's land inside venues.

They are neither staff nor punters, often employed externally from the venue, meaning they are technically not the bar's responsibility.

And while many venues employ bouncers to protect staff and customers, one female believes they can have no effect.

"I think sometimes the bouncers don’t take it seriously," claims the shot seller.

"They find it funny and it makes girls less likely to come forward."

Action is being taken from above though.

A new pilot to make some of Newcastle's biggest bars safer has been trialled.

The Shout-Up! campaign has been rolled out on the Collingwood Street 'Diamond Strip' already.

Floritas, House of Smith and Tup Tup Palace have already piloted it, with Jesmond venues next.

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

Bar staff are trained to recognise and act on dangerous situations.

Bright green posters, t-shirts and even beer mats remind customers that sexual harassment won't be tolerated.

Nicole Mullen, project lead for Shout-Up!, said the Newcastle City Council-led scheme had been a "huge success" to date.

"As a whole, venue staff, including floor staff, bar staff, management and door staff, have said that they feel much more comfortable in being able to identify and tackle sexual harassment," she said.

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But the problem again is the scheme primarily targets revellers.

And it means a solution for patrons may not solve the problem for shot girls.

One shot girls says that while she thinks the scheme is a "good idea", she doubts the practicalities of it will work for those in her role.

"The problem with most bars is that they are really busy," she adds.

(Image: newcastle journal)

"The bar staff are occupied and not aware of much else going on."

However, there is some security for shot girls - the police.

“Let me make it very clear, it is never acceptable under any circumstances to sexually assault someone," says Detective Chief Inspector Shelley Hudson, from Northumbria Police's Safeguarding Department.

She says this includes "inappropriate touching", urging anybody this happens to to come forward and not have to endure it in silence.

“If this has happened to you, we would encourage you to come forward and report it.

"Anyone coming forward will be treated with compassion and taken seriously.

“We have specially-trained officers who can support you and we will investigate your case thoroughly and professionally.”

But for the girls who spoke with ChronicleLive, the root cause of the problem should be addressed - male attitudes to women.

Fed hypersexualised images of models on glossy magazine covers and bikini-clad women strutting around on primetime TV shows, experts claim the idea of women as sex objects is developed at a young age.

One girl we spoke with feels "more should be done at school and in college to teach people what is and is not acceptable on a night out".

She said assumptions of availability, and exacerbated by alcohol, ‘lad’ behaviour becomes predatory and potentiality violent.

(Image: ITV)

Laura Rothwell is the founder of CRYSTLSD, a marketing agency involved with the Shout-Up! campaign.

She agrees a long-term solution lies in education, but recognises behaviour shifts "take decades".

"They take exceptional amounts of funding, they take cooperation, collaboration, education, maybe even a revolution," she says.

In recent years this has involved the '#MeTwo' movement. Nationally, police forces have reported a huge increase in the reporting of sexual offences.

But despite this, there is still a great stigma for the victims. The shot girls who gave statements wanted to remain anonymous for different reasons, however a key theme was the sense of shame felt.

They worried about what their family and friends would think.

It is an all-too-familiar situation, in which victims of sexual harassment and assault are made to feel embarrassed and ashamed by their experience, rather than the perpetrators.

One former shot salesman happy to be named is Luke Harrison.

Now 32, he used to sell shots a decade ago in Newcastle's gay bars.

Although not making any specific allegations, he says: "The problem has always been there.

"And I think a lot of it has to do with alcohol - people lose their self-respect, dignity and moral standards.

"When you are under the influence you forget what you are saying."

(Image: Evening Chronicle)

Luke says he used to have to work topless.

And he believes the use of flesh as a selling tool can wrongly make punters assume you are "on show".

"I'm a strapping lad, so I always felt comfortable if I had to tell people to back off, but a lot of those who do this [job] are female and may feel vulnerable," adds the fitness and lifestyle guru.

"But you would have to tell people to back off as people thought it was OK and you should just go along and have a laugh with it.

"And that's not right."