Ref.9853-07A prostitute who was jailed last year for breaching an order banning her from the centre of town has been issued with yet another banning order.

And Matt McCue, the man who set up Street Watch to monitor the activity of hookers, pimps and men touting for sex in the centre of town, says he will take as long as necessary to drive every last prostitute from the streets of Swindon.

Leanne Goldsmith, 22, of Raleigh Avenue, Walcot, was yesterday handed an injunction preventing her from going near Broad Street, Manchester Road or the surrounding area until January next year. And if she does she faces up to two years in jail.

Goldsmith was jailed for 28 days last year for breaching a similar banning order that forbade her from entering the centre of town between 6pm and 6am. The order given by Judge John McNaught at Swindon County Court yesterday is valid between the same times.

Cheri Wright, Swindon Council's anti-social behaviour co-ordinator, said: "The judge was satisfied the injunction was needed to prevent her going into the area. She was given an injunction last year, but was committed to prison because it didn't appear to be working.

"I think this does act as a deterrent because you only have to look at the impact these injunctions have had in the area to see the difference it has made. Broad Street and the surrounding areas are becoming a better place to live."

Yesterday's injunction was the direct result of a community campaign to rid central Swindon of the blight of prostitutes and restore civic pride.

Street Watch helped compile surveillance that resulted in Goldsmith's conviction.

Mr McCue, 52, of Station Road, says his volunteers have been on the streets of central Swindon for 710 consecutive nights gathering information to help the council and police in their quest for more prosecutions. He was in court yesterday on his 52nd birthday.

He said: "If we don't do this sort of thing then how do we combat prostitution? Since Goldsmith came out of prison for the time she served for breach we have clocked her three times she used to be out on the streets six nights a week without fail.

"Personally I think prostitution should be legalised on non-residential estates like a business park or somewhere, but street prostitution should never be made legal because of the effect it has on the neighbourhood.

"When someone walks down the street and is approached by a prostitute or a young lady is asked 'how much' by a passing car it's extremely frightening.

"Two years after Street Watch was first set up we're finding more and more of our residents are walking the streets. They're eventually coming back in possession of the people and that has to be a sign that we're winning the battle. The court process is worth every penny."

The authorities currently have seven banning orders out against prostitutes and one against a minder.

Giles Sheldrick