A 'SEEDY' couple wept as they were spared prison after running a brothel in Somerset.

Dean Rogers and Maya Rogers, 47 and 54, who own Maiden Rest Bed and Breakfast on the Esplanade in Weymouth, were each given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after managing a brothel at 126 Hendford Hill in Yeovil when they appeared at Taunton Crown Court.

The pair had admitted at a previous hearing they managed the brothel, between May 2015 and November 2015, for prostitution.

Prosecuting, William Hunter told the court the brothel was based at a semi-detached home, which was split into two, with prostitutes using the back part of the home to meet men for sex.

Mr Hunter said undercover police officers were acting on intelligence they had recovered off the internet, for a massage parlour called Asian Beauty, and one of the phone numbers on the site was linked to the Rogers.

Mr Hunter said: "On June 25, 2015, the undercover police officers phoned the number, and the call was answered by an oriental-sounding lady. On the phone an agreement was made over pricing, which would be £70 for half-an-hour or £100 for an hour.

"Officers then visited the house, and it was clear to them that sex was involved.

"On October 28, officers seized CCTV footage of the building, which showed Asian women visiting the flat in various stages of undress, and using it on an individual basis."

The court heard the couple managed the flat with somebody else, who was not named, and when they were interviewed by police they admitted managing the flat but didn't know what the women were doing and thought it was just for massages, and added they made £100 a week from managing it.

Mr Hunter then said Mr Rogers' phone was seized by police, and on it there were only 28 contacts, all named 'working girl' followed by their first name.

In mitigation, Andrew Hill, representing both of them, said Mr Rogers was more "involved" than his wife in running the brothel, and added: "They both own and manage the Maiden Rest bed and breakfast in Weymouth, and if they were to go to prison it would be devastating for all."

Sentencing them, Judge David Evans gave them credit for an early guilty plea and said: "The work you did, your activities, were seedy and risky.

"When people like you decide to put financial gain over the wellbeing of people, risks to individuals are involved, as well as the neighbours of an unremarkable house in a respectable neighbourhood, where male visitors came regularly for sex with women unknown to them.

"The women were treated by both of you as a means to end, and that's simply despicable."

As well as the suspended sentence, they were both placed on an electronic tag curfew, from 10pm until 6am, for three months, a 15-day rehabilitation order, and fine of £500 each.