This Italian council actually wants local prostitutes to become more visible

Prostitutes on a main road into Milan will be fined €500 (£360) if they fail to swap their clothes for reflective jackets and trousers.

The city is experiencing a boom in prostitution due to the 2015 Expo World Fair, with an estimated 15,000 extra sex workers having made a beeline for the event.

On the road from Milan to Cremona the increase in the number of prostitutes is particularly noticeable and presents a road-safety problem, say the authorities in the outlying town of Spino d’Adda.

According to its deputy mayor Luciano Sinigaglia: “The sex workers should be treated as employees who work on road construction and forced to wear clothes that make them visible.” He said this meant sensible reflective clothing.

Sex workers caught a second time without the right clothing will be arrested.

“We are almost ready with the definitive draft of the document. I hope to have it [the ordinance] up and running by the start of September,” Mr Sinigaglia told Corriere Della Sera.

But the newspaper noted that in addition to concerns with road safety, authorities in Spino d’Adda took a strong line in discouraging prostitution. Four years ago the town introduced a law allowing clients of sex workers to be fined up to €500 (£350).

More: Pictures of George Osborne in hi-vis jackets - a history