PROSTITUTES in Southend are being targeted by police with a “three strikes and you’re nicked” policy.

The tough new approach has already led to the arrest of one woman suspected of touting for business in a red-light area.

She was caught a third time by officers, who have now charged her. She is due to appear before Southend Magistrates’ Court on April 16.

Sgt Ashley Holland explained the idea behind the latest tactic was to drive prostitutes out of the borough.

He said the policy would apply if prostitutes were caught three times working on the street within three months.

He added: “The way the process works is they get two cautions on the street, then, the third time, they get arrested for the full offence.”

Officers launched a concerted operation against prostitution in 2009, after residents complained about women shouting at night and leaving dirty needles in front gardens.

The problem has been particularly bad in Ambleside Drive, York Road and Riviera Drive, where police recorded 191 complaints in 2009.

After the operation bit, the numbers getting caught fell sharply. Last year, there were just 62 complaints.

Police action led two prostitutes being given Asbos, banning them from the area, while scores of kerb-crawling men were handed warnings.

Now police have decided to try the “three strikes” policy in an effort to improve the situation further.

Residents have raised concerns in the past about banning prostitutes from particular areas, on the grounds this simply shifted the problem elsewhere.

Riveria Drive resident Judith Codarin welcomed the latest police initiative, but said police action had already improved matters in her street.

She explained: “They used to walk past my house or even congregate under my security lighting.

“It’s nothing like that now. The police operation has been terrifically successful. I used to see them in the past, waiting on the corner in full daylight, with schoolkids going past.”