KERB-crawlers are to be given a stark reminder of the consequences of being caught with a vice girl.

Their illegal sex could cost them their job, reputation, driving licence and a £1,000 fine, as well as bringing shame on their family, a six-week advertising campaign will warn.

Middlesbrough will be among places such as London, Bristol and Leeds, where the adverts will be seen around town centres and heard on local radio stations.

Sergeant Paul Higgins, head of Middlesbrough's vice unit, believes people often forget the far-reaching social consequences that have attached themselves to the illicit industry.

"Prostitution is a vice that brings with it drugs and violence and affects many people," he said. "The women involved are often very young and themselves victims of sexual and physical abuse."

"Local residents have to put up with being propositioned on their doorsteps and seeing their area decline. We are determined to tackle this problem.

"My message is clear: don't come to Middlesbrough looking for prostitutes. If you do, we will catch you; you will be prosecuted and your details, together with the offence, will be made public via the local media."

But the campaign has been criticised for potentially driving sex workers underground.

A spokeswoman for the English Collective of Prostitutes, which calls for the decriminalisation of prostitution, has criticised the "draconian" measures.

She said: "We have seen the impact of crackdowns like this in Ipswich, where women have been driven further underground into unfamiliar, less well-lit areas, where they are more vulnerable to attack.

"How can the police justify a policy on prostitution which says nothing about women's safety, which is what public opinion has said time and time again should be the absolute priority.

She described it as "a policy which says nothing about the homelessness, poverty and debt that even the government has acknowledged are the fundamental issues that drive women into prostitution".

However, Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker has defended the scheme.

He said: "Local communities are fed-up with street prostitution - the sexual activity taking place in their parks and playgrounds, condoms and discarded needles littering the streets and innocent women mistakenly targeted and abused by men on the prowl.