A MAN was ordered to have sex with a woman in a Soho brothel after being forced to hand over £400.
He managed to escape in the latest “clipping” incident, one of many that take place every month in Soho’s surviving clip joints.
The victim, a 22-year-old man from Dunstable in Bedfordshire, was enticed into a venue in Great Windmill Street at 11pm by promises of a striptease for £5.
He told police he handed over £10 to a hostess on the door, who promised she would give him his change when he left.
Once inside the club, he was shown a confusing price list, which charged £50 for a strip and £295 for a bedroom visit.
But he was immediately asked to pay £400 up front. He tried to argue with the staff but became frightened and decided to pay the £400.
He was then taken to a flat in Brewer Street and told by a male bouncer to have sex with a woman he described as “ugly”. The man escaped from the flat and reported the incident to police.
Three days later – on Saturday evening – two tourists were caught up in a similar scam in a Great Windmill Street club where they paid £5 each to enter an adults-only establishment but were immediately handed a bill for £395.
They did not have enough money so one was allowed to leave to go to a bank cash machine. Once outside the club where his friend was being held ransom, the man called police.
Police arrived shortly after and raided the club. Two members of staff have been charged with blackmail, theft and false imprisonment.
A Finnish tourist was robbed of £170 and threatened with a hypodermic needle on Monday morning after agreeing to be taken to a Soho strip club.
The 21-year-old man was in Oxendon Street, near Leicester Square, when a young woman approached him and offered to take him to a strip bar.
He told police he reluctantly agreed and was warned he would be searched for weapons before entering.
She took him to a nearby doorway and grabbed 250 Euros from him. When the victim demanded his money back, she told him she had posted it through a letterbox.
She then threatened him with a hypodermic needle before running off.
Despite the concerted efforts of Westminster Council and police, two clip joints are still operating near Soho Parish School in Great Windmill Street.
Andy Elvin, head of Soho Family Centre, hoped that over time the clip joints would be forced to close.
He said: “They are being squeezed out of business. There used to be four here and now we are down to two, but it is taking a long time.
“It is not easy to get rid of these things. They are very durable but we are moving in the right direction.”