A BROTHEL owner stands to lose almost £1m after he confessed last night to running a prostitution racket.

John Middleton is facing jail and has had his £900,000 assets frozen following a lengthy undercover police operation which revealed he was operating brothels in the region.

The former double glazing shop owner had up to a dozen prostitutes working for him at the Pleasure Zone sex shop in Darlington and in a caravan on the A1 near Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

The 60-year-old appeared at Teesside Crown Court yesterday and pleaded guilty to two counts of living off the earnings of prostitution between November 2002 and February last year, and also between March 1 and 14 last year.

He had previously pleaded not guilty to the offences and had always maintained his Darlington shop was a legitimate business.

The North Road premises are situated on one of the main routes into Darlington. The shop provoked huge opposition from nearby residents when it opened in 1998 who did not feel the establishment was suitable for a Quaker town with traditional values.

The premises operated as a lingerie and sex shop downstairs but at the end of 1999 it was extended to include a massage parlour upstairs.

In evidence presented to the court but not read out, it was revealed that Middleton was caught when three undercover police officers became regular punters at the premises armed with hidden video cameras and microphones.

The officers paid for straightforward massages and recorded their conversations with the women. On each occasion they were offered "extras" and given price lists for a variety of sex acts.

Jamie Hill, prosecuting, said in the written evidence: "It was made plain that any sexual preference could be catered for."

If men wanted certain sex acts to be carried out they would have to make the necessary arrangements on the telephone with the defendant.

Mr Hill said two of the officers were given Middleton's mobile telephone number and spoke to him.

One officer met Middleton by arrangement and was shown a folder with various girls. He was also given a guided tour of the premises.

Massages and "extras" took place in the area above the shop, and the prostitutes offered sex in adjoining rooms known as The Fantasy Ranch. Escort services were also supplied which clearly included sex, according to the evidence presented to the court.

Police arrested Middleton at his former £400,000 home, Barrenthwaite Hall, near Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, and they seized computer equipment and documents as evidence.

He was later released on bail but was re-arrested for continuing to run the Pleasure Zone vice den.

It is understood Middleton was planning to open a third establishment in Newark, Nottinghamshire.

Officers swooped on the Darlington massage parlour last February and arrested Middleton, his wife Lesley and receptionist Catherine MacLeod.

Mrs Middleton was charged with aiding and abetting her husband but the charge was later dropped.

MacLeod, 62, of Wesley Court, Darlington, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Middleton at yesterday's hearing.

Middleton's assets were frozen in an application to confiscate them under the 1988 Criminal Justice Act.

The pair were remanded on bail and are due to appear for sentencing on January 28. A confiscation hearing will take place on April 13.

Judge Michael Taylor told Middleton: "Go and put your affairs in order and prepare for a prison sentence for these offences."

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