Prolific kerb crawler who ‘failed to learn his lesson’ is banned from three Bristol areas

A kerb crawler has been banned from three areas of Bristol after he ‘failed to learn his lesson’ and was caught reoffending.

Tom Bright, 57, from Cotham, was convicted of paying a woman for sex, otherwise known as soliciting prostitution, on Stapleton Road in Easton at Bristol Magistrates Court.

Subsequently, Avon and Somerset Police successfully applied for a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) banning him from entering the Fishpond Road area in Eastville, the Stapleton/ Warwick Road area in Easton and the Portland/Brunswick Squares in St Pauls.

The order, passed by magistrates on May 20, will be in place for three years. It is the second time Bright has been subject to a CBO, having been banned from the same areas in 2015.

PC Tina Newman said: “Kerb crawling is illegal. Not only does it often take advantage of vulnerable people it is also extremely anti-social and significantly impacts on the quality of life of those who live and work in the area.

“Tom Bright has a history of such criminality and while his previous CBO had a really positive impact on his behaviour at the time, he has failed to learn his lesson and has since been caught reoffending.

“Should he be sighted in the areas shown on the map he could be arrested regardless of whether he is committing any other offences at the time.”

Soliciting of prostitution is when an offender makes a serious attempt to engage in prostitution by either offering money for sexual acts or providing sex acts for compensation.

An offer to pay cash for sexual acts is typically enough to prosecute in a solicitation case.