Man asked police officer for sex

A MAN in Bolton's red light district asked an undercover police officer for sex, a court heard.

Plain clothes officers were in the area as part of Operation Resident, which aimed to detect and deter kerb crawlers.

Father-of-six Sajad Hussein was arrested in July after he beckoned PC Bernie Miller over to his van and asked: "How much do you charge?"

Police chiefs today vowed to continue their clampdown. Chief Insp Alan Green, of Bolton Police, said: "We are determined to stamp out kerb crawling. We hope this will send out a strong warning. People will be caught and dealt with."

Hussein, aged 36, pulled up alongside PC Miller, who was wearing jeans, a white top and a cream coat, at the junction of Breightmet Street and River Street in a Transit van at 1.45pm on Wednesday, July 3, Bolton Magistrates Court heard.

It was the second day of the operation.

She told the court that he had leaned out of his window and beckoned her to approach. PC Miller said: "I ignored this and then heard the man shout 'Oi'. There was no one else around.

"He said 'How much is it?' I said 'What?', then he added 'How much do you charge?' He thought I was a prostitute and wanted to do business."

Hussein then drove off but PC Miller gave a police colleague waiting further up the street a pre-arranged signal and Hussein was stopped and arrested.

PC Miller told the court: "The operation was a success. We detected a number of kerb crawlers. The area is being plagued by prostitutes night and day."

Hussein had claimed to be using his phone at the time.

He said he only spoke to PC Miller thinking she thought his van was a taxi.

Simon Leong, defending, said Hussein had travelled to Bolton to attend two appointments at town centre legal firms.

He was said to be "passing the time of day" when he was arrested. Unemployed Hussein, of Queen's Park Road, Heywood, was found guilty of soliciting a woman from a car. He was fined £100 and ordered to pay £100 court costs.