AUDIO Kerb crawlers were today warned they face having their personal lives destroyed when they are caught carrying out their sleazy activities in Ipswich's red-light district.

KERB crawlers were today warned they face having their personal lives destroyed when they are caught carrying out their sleazy activities in Ipswich's red-light district.

In a double warning to the men who fund the town's destructive street sex trade, the government and Suffolk police warned that the consequences for being caught in the act would go far beyond a fine.

As part of its new campaign to deter kerb crawlers from picking up prostitutes, the Home Office warned men they would face humiliation in the press, as well as a fine, a driving ban, a court appearance, letters to their home and heaping shame on their family.

The warning has been issued via radio and press advertisements in seven locations around the country, including London, Middlesbrough and Leeds.

While the campaign has not been extended to Ipswich, The Evening Star is today printing the warnings and playing one of the ads designed for radio on its website - www.eveningstar.co.uk - to spread the message to men considering using prostitutes in Ipswich.

Home Office minister Vernon Coaker said: “Kerb-crawlers make a choice when they pay for sex on our streets and I want to make them think twice. This campaign sends a stark warning to them that the price they pay could be more than just financial - it could cost them their livelihood and family.”

Earlier this year Ipswich launched an unprecedented crackdown on the men who generate demand for the street sex industry. The blitz followed the killing of sex workers Anneli Alderton, Tania Nicol, Paula Clennell, Gemma Adams and Annette Nicholls whose bodies were found in locations around Ipswich in December last year.

Suffolk police have made a string of arrests and the campaign has been deemed a success so far but one of the senior officers leading the blitz today revealed men were seemingly not getting the message.

Chief Superintendent Alan Caton said: “The strategy is progressing well. If I am disappointed it is because, in spite of all the publicity, men still come to Ipswich and prowl the streets looking for prostitutes. We are making arrests on a regular basis.

“We are working hard with a number of women to help them change their lifestyle and a lot of work is going on behind the scenes with regard to prevention and formulating an educational programme for schools.”

To listen to the Home Office's kerb crawling radio campaign visit www.eveningstar.co.uk.

Has your life been affected by kerb crawling? What do you think can be done to crack down on kerb crawling? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.

Interviewer: So can you tell me a little bit about your conviction.

MAN: (Man's voice digitally disguised to hide his identity) I got done for kerb crawling three years ago, I remember thinking, “thousand pound fine? Small price to make it disappear.” So I took it out the savings on the quiet - my wife never checked that sort of thing.

Then the papers got hold of it. 'Father of Two in Vice Shame'.

MAN: (Man's real voice revealed) No hiding it then. Everyone knows who you are. Work didn't say anything. But I got made redundant shortly after. Cutbacks apparently.

You may be outed in the media if you're convicted of kerb crawling as well as receiving up to a £1000 fine and losing your driving licence. Kerb crawling costs more than you think.

Homeoffice.gov.uk