A MARRIED couple whose Oxford brothel helped them net more than £770,000 in seven months have been ordered to pay back less than two per cent of their ill-gotten gains.

Ian and Jill Lydon, who had earlier admitted to keeping a brothel at a flat in All Saints Road, Headington, were yesterday told to give up £12,984.15 under the Proceeds of Crime Act at Oxford Crown Court.

The pair benefited to the tune of £773,124 after running the Oxford sex business and similar set-ups in Gerrards Cross, High Wycombe and Milton Keynes.

In June, Mr Lydon, 43, was jailed for five months for his part in the Oxford operation, which ran from August 2007 until it was raided on February 2008, while his 49-year-old wife, who helped administer the brothel website, was given 150 hours’ community service.

Nikki Duncan, prosecuting, said the amount was agreed by the Crown Prosecution Service and the Lydons’ barristers as representing available assets.

The court heard an estimated £10,000 will be paid once the couple, who live in Wendover Road, Stoke Mandeville, Bucks, sell their house and the remaining amount would come from property already held by police.

Judge Julian Hall accepted Mrs Lydon had no assets and said the money would have to repaid by her husband by September 17 or he will be jailed for eight months. Outside court, Sergeant Jerry Kidd, who was Headington neighbourhood officer at the time of the investigation, said: “One of the neighbourhood priorities in Headington was anti-social behaviour and the running of the brothel was deemed anti-social.

“When we did the raid there was one girl in there, from Birmingham. Thankfully there were no under-age girls or girls forced into the industry.

“The main message is not the amount of money, but this shows residents that we take their concerns seriously and these offences will not be tolerated.”

After the hearing, All Saints Road resident Sophie Leslie, 32, said: “It doesn’t seem very much.

“It seems quite lenient, and not much of a deterrent.”

Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was aware of the brothel as men and women would call asking for directions.

She said: “It doesn’t seem much to have to pay back. I wish it hadn’t been in my backyard.

“It was definitely noticeable.”

Another woman said: “They should have shared the money with us.

“I wasn’t aware it was going on until somebody told me. We did get a letter from somebody who had children and was very upset, but I never saw any cars.”

Cari Mitchell of the English Collective of Prostitutes defended the Lydons’ right to run the Oxford brothel.

She said: “This small business was so discreet many weren’t aware it existed. No force or coercion was going on and no-one there was underage. Everyone knows it’s much safer for women to work together indoors.”

Ms Mitchell also claimed there was a vested interest in the prosecution of sex workers as police forces can receive some of any money confiscated.