HABITUAL hooker Terri-Lee Pearce has been given a six-month prison sentence for continually breaking an injunction banning her from the middle of Swindon at night.

A judge at Swindon County Court jailed her in her absence yesterday after hearing that she had been spotted inside the exclusion zone on 29 separate occasions.

Afterwards both the police and the borough council welcomed the sentence and said it sent a warning to other prostitutes that they were serious about cleaning up the area around Manchester Road.

"This sentence sends a strong message to those who persist in this type of anti-social behaviour," said Inspector Wendy Grant.

"Further injunctions and less severe penalties would not have been effective."

She said a lot of work had been done by officers dedicated to clearing the problem. "It is a very positive result."

Cheri Wright, Swindon Borough Council's anti-social behaviour co-ordinator was equally pleased.

She explained that Pearce, 19, of Westbury Road, Penhill, was not the first to be jailed for ignoring such injunctions, but she had been given the maximum jail term. Previous defendants had been imprisoned for no more than a couple of months.

"She is now going to be away from the area for up to six months," she said.

"This is one of the reasons why we do it. The injunction is to try and help the women identify that their behaviour is antisocial.

The message that they weren't welcome was strong. "It tells all the prostitutes that their behaviour is not going to be tolerated and that should they break the injunctions there will be repercussions."

She paid tribute to Street Watch and the police who were continually gathering data on the prostitutes' activities in central and Gorse Hill area.

"There are people who are genuinely out to make the community a better place."

An arrest warrant has now been issued for Pearce, who had an injunction taken out against her by the council on January 2. Just two weeks ago she and two other prostitutes, Carina Matysiak and Faye Rawlings were warned that they risked jail if they were caught in the middle of the town between 6pm and 6am.

At that hearing magistrates granted the council anti-social behaviour orders against the women.

Tina Clarke