A MAN has been fined for kerb crawling in Ipswich after police launched a crackdown on the red light district in the wake of the killings of five prostitutes.

A MAN has been fined for kerb crawling in Ipswich after police launched a crackdown on the red light district in the wake of the killings of five prostitutes.

Martin Daniels, of Anita Close East, Ipswich, was prosecuted after picking up a vice-girl in the town's red light district, police said yesterday.

Appearing at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court, Daniels, 56, pleaded guilty to a charge of kerb crawling in Handford Road.

He was fined £350 and ordered to pay £75 costs.

Local authorities in Ipswich are targeting kerb crawlers entering Ipswich's red light district in a bid to remove the problem of prostitution from the town.

Since the crackdown was launched in March, more than 20 kerb crawlers have been cautioned but Daniels is the first to be taken to court.

The campaign began following the deaths of Gemma Adams, 25, Tania Nicol, 19, Anneli Alderton, 24, Paula Clennell, 24, and Annette Nicholls, 29, who had all worked as prostitutes in Ipswich.

Their bodies were found dumped at remote locations on the edge of the town in December last year.

Steve Wright, 49, of London Road, Ipswich, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the five women and is due to stand trial in January.