SEX and violence should be cut from street advertising, according to a psychic healer who has led a 20-year, one-man crusade.

Martin Coombs, 72, of Perry Vale, Forest Hill, set up the group Stop Crude Advertising Material in Public (Scamp) in the early 1990s and is now looking for supporters.

He initially focused on pornography after he had a complaint from one woman who “felt threatened” at a petrol station selling soft porn magazines.

But Mr Coombs, a former Lewisham councillor and chamber of commerce chairman, now has his sights fixed on adverts which “glamourise” violence.

He said: “I am not a prude. People are entitled to see or purchase what they want but it should be in the privacy of their own homes.”

Mr Coombs claims that levels of street crime are not helped by adverts and posters which “normalise” violence and the use of weapons.

Over the years he has put in around 30 complaints, including against adverts for serial killer drama Dexter and Nikita, which featured a gun-wielding heroine with the strapline “I like to kill.”

He also joined protests against ads for horror film Eight Legged Freaks which depicted terrifying giant spiders he claimed could cause a car accident.

But so far his only success has been a ban on a poster by the Deptford radio station Fusion, depicting a naked female torso with the nipples replaced by radio dials.

He said: “There must be tighter controls and those persons causing the offence should be heavily fined with monies going to victims of crime charities.”

Mr Coombs, who admits to being inspired by campaigner Mary Whitehouse, is now seeking help and support from organisations and people with an outlook similar to his own.

He says she told him: “People think you might be nuts, but keep on doing it.”

To get in touch email healermartin@aol.com