From Irma La Douce to Pretty Woman, film prostitutes have always fascinated Hollywood, but the real-life hooker has not always benefited by it.

Now prostitutes in a rundown area of Vancouver are seeking compensation for loss of earnings from companies which have been shooting films and television dramas on their patch and scaring off their clients.

Prostitutes and beggars ply their trades in an area of the city known as Downtown Eastside, which has become popular for shooting moody street scenes.

It is usual for businesses which have to close down during shooting to be compensated for lost trade and the Eastside street-walkers and cap-shakers feel they have been left out.

Thirty production companies which have been operating in the area, including some big Hollywood studios, have had a letter on their behalf from the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.

"Sex trade workers must be compensated for displacement they experience at your hands in the same manner you would compensate a business if you were to use their locale during operating hours," the letter says.

"The same must be true for homeless people you push from beneath a bridge or doorway and drug users you move from a park."

Giving a radio interview on the network's behalf, Chris Livingston said yesterday that they had not yet worked out the exact amount of compensation. Prostitutes should be paid their normal hourly rate - about $80 (£34). Beggars would not expect that much, but should get something for being moved on.

The Vancouver Sun is sympathetic. "We see no reason why any unorthodox entrepreneur should be treated differently from other businesses when it comes to compensation," an editorial this week said.

But local film producers are dismayed, saying that they have a good record of giving to local charities. They are also afraid that the demand may discourage the current production boom in Canada.