A brother and sister have been jailed for their role in running a chain of brothels.

Spencer Rolfe and Adele Lubin were each sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment for operating the £1 million vice ring across North-West London.

They were arrested in April last year following an undercover investigation during which detectives were offered sex and a female policewoman was asked to work as a prostitute. The Metropolitan Police's vice unit began investigating the family after information was passed to them from local officers.

Lubin's son, David Howard, 40, of Canvey Road, Canvey Island, was given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for two years. He must also undertake 150 hours of community service.

When the trio was arrested, police found 17 prostitutes working at four brothels. Lubin, 61, of Watford Way, Hendon, ran bordellos at beauty parlours in Hendon and Harrow, while Rolfe, 60, of Green Avenue, Mill Hill, managed another close to his home. The family had advertised the brothels in local newspapers, newsagents and a listings magazine. During the investigation, Rolfe told an officer that a number of the women had been working for him for three years, and that he had run a brothel from his own home.

Detective Inspector Gary Young of the Metropolitan Police clubs and vice unit said: "The suggestion was that the brother and sister dragged Howard into it, but he is an adult and made money out of this. Bearing in mind they were running a number of premises, the sentences were about what we would have expected."

He confirmed officers will now attempt to seize the fortune amassed through the family's criminality. They were found guilty of conspiracy to control prostitution last month.

Howard's father, Ray Howard, a Conservative councillor on Essex County Council, said he would stand by his son following his conviction.