A SENIOR member of a police authority has resigned after being caught kerb crawling in a notorious Teesside red light district.
John Whiteman, the deputy leader of Northumberland County Council, was found in a "state of undress" with a prostitute after he paid £35 for sex in his car, a court heard yesterday.
Whiteman, 55, who is married, admitted soliciting a prostitute from a vehicle when he appeared before magistrates in Middlesbrough. He was fined £300 with £40 costs.
The court was told how Whiteman, from Solingen Estate, Blyth, had been spotted picking up the prostitute by officers in a marked police vehicle in Middlesbrough last Saturday night.
Later in the evening, an unmarked car found his Ford Mondeo parked in a layby in Riverside Park Road - near the town's well-known red light area.
And when officers took a closer look they found Whiteman with the prostitute.
Ms Annelise Hougstad, prosecuting, said: "When officers approached the vehicle they found the defendant in a state of undress.
"The female with him was also in a similar state of undress.
"When questioned at the police station, the defendant admitted that he had picked up the prostitute and that he had agreed to pay £35 for full sexual intercourse."
Whiteman, a member of Northumbria Police Authority since 1987, defended himself and denied he was in a "state of undress".
He said: "Since the incident I have resigned all my positions with the council and police authority. Apart from that I have nothing else to say."
Cleveland Police Vice Unit officer, PC Graham Bland, said: "We have problems with people coming from outside the Teesside area looking for sex on the streets of Middlesbrough.
"This sends out a message that, whoever you are and whatever your position, whether a senior councillor, doctor or vicar, we will not tolerate it."
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