Persistent kerb crawlers will be banned from entering Bradford's red light area as the city's vice squad steps up its fight against prostitution.

Those caught venturing inside Bradford's notorious vice district, in breach of new court rulings, will face jail or heavy fines.

The tough new measures come as police stepped up patrols in the vice district, a half-mile area around Thornton Road and City Road in Bradford.

The police are to use Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO) as they take an increasingly tough stance against "punters" who pay for prostitutes and the pimps who force them on to the streets.

The move comes as the police introduce ground-breaking technology to track and trace every single car passing through the area.

The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system has already been successfully used against thieves and drug dealers and will now be employed by the vice squad.

The computer device, which can be hidden at the roadside, reads and records the registration of every passing car. Officers can then take action against the ready-made list of offenders, either arresting them or sending warning letters to their homes.

Detective Superintendent Geoff Dodd, who heads Bradford's vice squad, said officers were currently gathering evidence against known kerb crawlers in order to apply for their first batch of ASBOs through the courts.

Once granted, breaching the conditions of the order - including a ban from entering the red light area - immediately becomes a criminal offence.

ASBOs have typically been served on 'neighbours from hell' or young yobs, but Bradford will be become one of the first areas in the country to use them against kerb crawlers.

Det Supt Dodd said the vice squad had made a major impact working alongside various support agencies but conceded there was still a long way to go in its five-year plan of tackling prostitution in Bradford.

He said the number of women seeking help to get out of prostitution had doubled last year and there were now fewer working girls on the streets.

Virtually all prostitutes used their trade to feed heroin and crack cocaine habits, with many working under constant threats and abuse from pimps.

"I feel it is our job to help them to get out of prostitution and at the same time to target the kerb crawlers and pimps who maintain women in a cycle of abuse," said Det Supt Dodd.

He said officers now operated an "always prosecute" policy against kerb crawlers, highlighting that six suspects were arrested and charged last week.

Among the punters recently caught touring the red light district were visitors from as far away as Derbyshire and Lancashire.

Police feel that Bradford has suffered "vice tourism" because of a reputation borne out of TV programmes such as Band of Gold.

Since the vice squad was launched 16 months ago, it has dramatically cut activity during the daytime and is now focusing on the night-time problem, said Det Supt Dodd.

He said many women had previously travelled from outside the city to work on Bradford's streets but there were none doing so now.

"We have made significant progress but I feel there will always be men prepared to abuse women," he added.

"We can arrest prostitutes day in and day out but the more mature and sensible approach is to help them get out of that lifestyle and to stop them getting into it in the first place.

"We are utterly determined to resolve this problem although there is a huge amount for us to do.

"We treat pimps and kerb crawlers with the same level of contempt. They are maintaining women in this squalid and abusive lifestyle."

The move came as detectives hoped DNA samples could help them trace the killer of Bradford prostitute Rebecca Hall. The 19-year-old mum was found battered to death in an alleyway within the red light district 18 months ago. Officers have revealed that DNA samples taken from the scene may still provide a breakthrough in their hunt.