Last year, the owners of a North-East escort ageny were arrested and charged with living off the proceeds of prostitution. They tell Women's Editor Christen Pears about how their names were cleared and how the business was really run.

AT seven o'clock on a Saturday morning in July, the police knocked on the front door of Douglas Fox and John Dockerty's terraced house in north-west Durham.

The couple were surprised at being woken so early and immediately thought the worst, assuming a relative had been killed. When they showed the officers inside, they received a shock of a different kind they were arrested and hauled off to be interviewed.

John, a civilian police worker, and Douglas, a designer, had been running a successful escort agency for 18 months before their arrest and subsequent charge for living off immoral earnings.

"The whole thing was nightmarish," recalls 39-year-old Douglas. "We were totally stunned. John was suffering from depression at the time and was already on long-term sick leave from his job. He became almost suicidal and it was terrible having to try and explain it to all our relatives."

John and Douglas are among only a handful of agency bosses in this country to have been prosecuted for living off immoral earnings and claim they would never have been charged if it had not been for an undercover investigation by the Evening Chronicle, followed by a series of hard-hitting articles. The interior design business Douglas runs suffered from the adverse publicity and at one stage the couple were even worried about people putting petrol bombs through their letterbox.

But they did receive support from unlikely source their fellow villagers in Burnhope, an ex-pit village perched on an exposed hill in Derwentside with just a few streets, a shop and a post office.

"We had just moved here and to be honest, we thought we would have a lot of problems because it is such a small, old-fashioned village. There were a few rumours to start with but they soon fizzled out and everyone used to speak to us. It was wonderful," says John and his boyish face breaks into a smile as he remembers the kindness of some of his neighbours.

The case came to court two months ago and the pair were prepared for a lengthy trial but it collapsed on the first day when the escorts refused to give evidence unless their identity could be protected a request the judge refused. Although their names have now been cleared, Douglas and John are still recovering from their ordeal.

John, 29, says: "The press had a field day because we're gay and because I worked for the police. We were made out to be some kind of gangsters and pimps and we went through 18 months of misery and trauma because of it. It's not easy to get over something like that."

Sitting in their living room, with Classic FM on low in the background, they certainly don't look like archetypal pimps. The plain brick facade of their house hides an interior that has clearly benefited from Douglas' artistic touch, with richly-coloured fabrics and wallpapers, unusual paintings and floral displays. Both men go out of their way to make me feel welcome and they clearly adore their two cats and Pekinese snoozing in front of the real fire.

"Anyone who knows us can see that we're not the sort of people who would run some sort of backstreet agency," says Douglas, the more outgoing of the two. "We're both pacifists, vegetarians and feminists. The idea of us controlling and exploiting women is ludicrous."

The couple, who have been together for five years, got into the escort business in a roundabout way when they were asked by a friend, working as an escort, if they would mind taking calls for her. They agreed and Douglas gradually became more involved. Other women asked if he would act as their agent and it eventually got to the stage where he decided to set up his own agency, Christony. At first John just helped out, designing the website and taking occasional calls, but by the time they moved to Burnhope last year, he too was involved on a day-to-day basis.

"We kept everything above board and were even members of the North-East Chamber of Commerce," Douglas explains. "Some of the leading hotel chains allowed us to put leaflets in their hotels and we also did quite a lot of work for animal charities like the cat and dog shelter in Newcastle and a charity for homeless horses in Egypt."

Although they have no plans to start up the agency again, the couple don't want others to fall foul of the law as they did and are planning to set up a lobby group, aimed at changing the legislation governing agencies, or at least having it re-worded.

Douglas says: "We're still using a law that was introduced in the 1950s to deal with gangsters and pimps who were controlling prostitutes in London. It's just not relevant any more and it's open to abuse. No reputable escort agency ever sells sex but if there's someone with a grudge against them, it's incredibly easy to accuse them of living off immoral earnings."

John chips in: "In most cases, it is up to the prosecution to prove their case but in this case, the burden of proof is on the agency to show that they're not living off immoral earnings. It's like you're guilty until proved innocent."

Although they are at pains to point out the difference between escorts and prostitutes escorts are paid for their time and company, not sex they readily admit there is a sleazy side to the business.

"We know there are some nasty people out there," Douglas says. "After the agency closed, one lady we represented approached an agency she thought was respectable but it wasn't. She ended up paying protection money and that's exactly what we want to stop."

One way to do this would be to introduce a licensing system whereby reputable agencies are approved by either the police or the local authority. Douglas and John believe this will legitimise genuine escort agencies while rooting out the seedier elements and protecting the escorts.

In its 18 months of business Christony never represented more than 12 women at any one time and charged a commission fee of up to 30 per cent. In return, the agency handled the escorts' bookings and made sure they were safe. John and Douglas kept in contact with the women during the date via mobile phone. If they hadn't checked in by a pre-arranged time, the pair called them to make sure there were no problems.

They describe the women on their books as "professional and well-educated" while the clients were mainly businessmen and other professionals.

"Most of the women just wanted to earn a bit extra cash for designer clothes or a new car. Being an escort was a fun way to do it and some of them were earning up to £1,000 a week." explains Douglas.

"Some of them wanted to meet interesting people but without having to have a relationship. That's true for a lot of the men as well. Most of these business types spend most of their lives in hotels and they don't have time for a relationship. With an escort, you know you're always going to have someone to go out to dinner or lunch with. It's just like a blind date really."

So why does the escort business have such a sleazy image? The pair shrug. "I suppose it's because people aren't used to it, particularly up here," speculates Douglas.

"Twenty years ago, dating agencies were frowned upon as being a bit sleazy and it's the same with escort agencies. In 20 years time, they'll be acceptable but, in the meantime, people have just got to get used to them. They're becoming more and more popular all the time and they're obviously here to stay."