A BUSINESSMAN who sold sex near York Minster has been ordered to repay more than £260,000 of his ill-gotten gains.

Barry Abrahams ran a brothel behind the front of a legitimate tanning salon in Little Stonegate, charging thousands of men £55 a time for sex with prostitutes.

Police found the business funded a lavish lifestyle for the 63-year-old, including two houses, a Porsche car, and trips to Thailand.

At York Crown Court yesterdy Recorder Euan Duff ordered Abrahams to hand over £267,806 within six months, or face three years and two months in prison.

Abrahams is already subject to a four-month prison sentence suspended for two years after pleading guilty to running a brothel and laundering its profits, between November 1, 2007, and March 27, 2008.

Detective Inspector Ian Wills, head of North Yorkshire Police's financial investigation unit, said: "The cash Barry Abrahams made while running the brothel and exploiting vulnerable women helped to fund a lavish lifestyle, which included numerous trips to Thailand. The confiscation order made against him represents one of the largest orders of this kind ever made by North Yorkshire Police."

He warned his team would "vigorously pursue" the assets of others who live off crime.

Financial investigator Teresa Bentley spent months tracking down Abrahams' assets and revealing the monetary side of the brothel.

Although Abrahams pleaded guilty to running a brothel for four months only, under a law aimed at preventing criminals from profiting from their crimes, the police can investigate criminals' finances for years before their crimes.