A TELEPHONE sex pest who has stayed out of trouble with the help of his family has been spared jail.

Chronic alcoholic Brian Humble, 44, made a string of random calls while drunk to women in hospitals, town halls and police offices.

He faced a prison sentence of up to five years for breaching an Asbo imposed by magistrates last year.

But after being released from custody two months ago while awaiting a deferred sentence, Newcastle Crown Court heard he had made positive changes and had not reoffended. Yesterday, after reading reports, Judge Michael Cartlidge gave Humble a one-year suspended prison sentence with a two-year supervision order.

Judge Cartlidge told him: “Stay out of trouble. Every time you are tempted think, ‘I don’t want to go to prison’.

Don’t let your family down.’’ Andrew Finlay, mitigating, said benefits accrued while Humble was in custody had been used to settle rent arrears and pay his council tax for the year. “He hasn’t wasted it,” he said. “It has been a useful deferral (of sentence).

The defendant seems to have managed to turn his life around to a significant extent with the help of his family.’’ Humble, of Redheugh Court, Gateshead, was convicted of making six calls in 2008 and given a three-year Asbo banning him from doing it again.

He was arrested again as a result of inquiries made following calls to The University Hospital of North Durham, late last August and September.

He later admitted making five calls in breach of the order at Durham Crown Court.

Humble was said to have picked numbers at random from the phone directory.

Previous hearings heard that one of his victims was left fearful of walking to work after he told her he would follow her, while in other calls he claimed to be performing a sex act on himself.

The judge made no order on costs and compensation, but ordered the forfeiture of two mobile phones used in the offences.