Tackle the users of street prostitutes

LAST winter's dreadful events centred on the red light area of Ipswich showed just how dangerous the world of street prostitution can be - and has sparked the police determination to get rid of the problem.

After the deaths it became clear that while street prostitution remains a problem in its own right, the way to tackle this is not by clamping down on the women themselves - but on the men who use them.

So the new clampdown on kerb-crawlers which has resulted in the first prosecution in the town is to be strongly welcomed.

It has become clear that as long as there are punters prepared to go out looking for women on the streets of the town's red light zone, there will be desperate women willing to sell their bodies to earn enough money for their next fix.

Cut off the demand and it is just possible that the women may have to look at other solutions to their drug addiction - like seeking treatment in a rehabilitation centre.

The question of legalising prostitution in licensed brothels is certainly worth looking at again - but realistically society needs to realise this is not an answer to the problem of street prostitution.

Legalised brothels would need to employ women who undergo regular health checks - and that would effectively preclude most of the street prostitutes who earn money to feed their drug habit from working in them.

So the only way of realistically ending the problem of street prostitution is to cut off the demand - and nothing is likely to do that more than the prospect of culprits being named and shamed.

The prospect of partners, families, friends, and colleagues knowing you have visited street prostitutes for sleazy sex in the dark corners of an industrial estate should be enough to put off most men from visiting the area.

The Evening Star will continue to work with police and the courts to expose any men guilty of kerb crawling in the red light area.

WHEN the total smoking ban in public places is introduced later in the summer, it should make life a lot more pleasant for the non-smoking majority who want to be able to visit pubs, restaurants, and other places without having to breathe in second-hand smoke.

But there are clearly going to be some people who will find life very difficult - such as the elderly residents of Yetton Ward House in Felixstowe who have pleaded to be able to continue to light up in their communal meeting area.

Realistically they are unlikely to win an exemption - but society does need to accept that people who have smoked for decades are going to find it very difficult to give up, especially if they don't really want to.

NIGEL Jones and Daniel Josselyn are about as far removed from the professional game of Tiger Woods and Colin Montgomerie as you can get while still talking about the Royal and Ancient game.

But on Saturday these brothers-in-law achieved what other more illustrious golfers never see in a whole career - they both scored holes in one during the same round at Ipswich Golf Club.

And there was something wonderful about their celebration afterwards - no bragging at the 19th hole, but a Chinese meal with their families. The perfect end to a perfect round!