A MAN who kept a prostitute prisoner in his flat was jailed for three years yesterday.

Bachelor Thomas Dawson, 54, met the woman, 33, as he walked home from a pub in Middlesbrough and paid her £15 for sex, said Christine Egerton, prosecuting.

When he found himself incapable, the woman blamed his drinking and said he could have his money back, but he wanted sex. He grabbed her arm and held it up her back as he pushed her into a passageway. He pulled her clothes off until she was naked and said she could not leave until they had sex.

Miss Egerton told Teesside Crown Court that the woman's ordeal lasted two hours, with Dawson dragging her from room to room, sexually assaulting her.

"Eventually, he calmed down and said she could get dressed and leave," she added.

Tom Bayliss, defending, said Dawson admitted holding down the woman and stopping her from leaving.

"He had been drinking heavily. He plainly accepts his wrongdoings, but he disputes that it lasted for two hours," he said.

Dawson, of Central Mews, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to attempted rape, indecent assault and false imprisonment on January 13. He was cleared of rape after his not guilty plea was accepted. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

Judge Guy Whitburn told Dawson: "Prostitutes are entitled to be protected from physical, sexual abuse by those who have bought their services but are unable to perform."