A Southampton woman has been accused of running a string of brothels across the city.

Sharon Moir appeared in court yesterday and denied running five brothels.

The 47-year-old is alleged to have run a business where men were charged £150 a time to sleep with prostitutes, the city crown court heard.

She stands accused of being a successful madam, raking in tens of thousands of pounds from her string of brothels.

Sharon Carol Moir, 47, is said to have run up to five brothels in Southampton charging men £150 a time to sleep with her prostitutes.

Jurors sitting at Southampton Crown Court yesterday were told that she hid the true nature of her business under the guise of a legitimate escort agency.

However when an undercover police officer applied for a job as part of a sting operation she was left in no doubt what she was expected to do to earn her money.

Other girls also told how they were given an "alphabet" of services punters might ask for and that letting them have their way would result in them making more cash.

When police raided Moir's flat in Sholing, the court heard, they seized two envelopes filled with cash. One was said to contain £12,000 and the other £13,000.

Opening the case, prosecutor Stephen Parish called Moir, who arrived in court dressed in a blue pin-stripe suit and a Versace silk scarf, "a successful madam".

He added that although she has always maintained she only ran The Panache Escort Agency, she knew perfectly well that the services provided were sexual.

He also warned the four male and eight female jurors that the case would involve them hearing a lot of references to sexual acts.

Mr Parish said Moir's arrest had come about after complaints from her neighbours, one of whom was a policeman, about men seen traipsing in and out of her Sholing Road home and about lots of "sexual" noises from the house.

Following the complaints police decided to set up a sting operation, sending in one of their undercover reporters, referred to only as Lou, who tried to get herself hired while taping their conversation.

Mr Parish added: "The contents of the conversation leave no doubt that she was being shown how to operate as a prostitute."

This included advice on wearing condoms and using lubricant, and to never say she was being paid for sex if the police asked, but to instead say she was an escort only.

Moir, who used a hearing aid during proceedings, was then arrested while a massive police investigation into her affairs got under way.

The investigation resulted in allegations that Moir kept three main brothels, described as places where more than one woman is offering sexual services for money, between 2004 and 2006.

Two of these were in Sholing Road and the third in Queen's Terrace.

Police also believe girls worked out of Alcantara Crescent and Emperor House, both in Ocean Village.

Raids on the addresses turned up bags full of condoms and sexual aids, while documents detailing the girls, clients, and money received were also uncovered.

Police traced some of the girls involved, including one who told how she did up to 300 "jobs" for Moir at a minimum of £150 a time - £100 of which she got to keep while the other £50 went to Moir.

Another was Jenny Tiller, who applied to work as an escort while she was a student studying for a degree in Southampton but who never actually worked for Moir after backing out.

She was said to have pulled out when she realised she would have been expected to sleep with her "dates".

She told the court that after signing up, Moir had given her the nickname of Mandy, and had implied that unless she had sex with the punters, the work would dry up - allegations the defence denies.

She also said Moir had told her to dress smartly when meeting the men, and to wear stockings, suspenders and her sexiest underwear.

Questioned by the defence lawyer Francis Sheridan as to how she knew Moir was implying she should sleep with her dates when the contract she signed with the agency did not state that, Miss Tiller added: "That's ultimately what it meant. Why else would you be going along in sexy underwear?"

Moir denies five charges of running brothels in Southampton, a charge of inciting prostitution for personal gain and three counts of controlling prostitution for personal gain.

Proceeding