Police today vowed to clean-up Southend's red light district after magistrates banned a prostitute from the area.
They used an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) to ensure the 35-year-old cannot ply for trade. The woman faces up to five years in jail if she breaks the order.
It is the first time the order has been used in the fight against prostitution.
Insp Darren Wiles, of Southend police, admitted normal police methods had not worked. He said: "ASBOs are a tool that we can now use.
"It is part of a long-term solution of preventing anti-social behaviour so we can focus our efforts on other crimes."
Sonja Pewter, of Hartington Road, Southend, pleaded guilty yesterday at Southend Magistrates' Court to being a prostitute and loitering in a public place at the junction of Ambleside Drive and Park Lane, and failing to answer bail on June 5.
Published Wednesday, June 18, 2003
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