Tourists in Amsterdam are being told to stop ogling sex workers in the infamous Red Light District.

Tour guides will have to ensure that visitors have their backs to the scantily-clad women who pose in full-length windows in brothels.

The strict new rules, which come into effect in April, have been put in place by city authorities to crack down on the number of gawping tourists swarming the area.

Shouting, alcohol and drug use are also forbidden on the tours and visitors will no longer be allowed to take pictures.

Tour operators are also being ordered to tell sightseers to show respect to sex workers and residents of the red light district.

Tours must stop at 11pm and are limited to 20 people.

Guides who flout the rules will be fined £170 and tour companies face a £840 fine.

Amsterdam city chiefs introduced the regulations after a voluntary code of conduct flopped.

The Red Light District has come under scrutiny after a string of human trafficking convictions in the Dutch courts exposed horrific conditions endured by women from Eastern Europe.

Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands but not on the streets, which is why prostitutes in Amsterdam stand behind the windows to attract business.



Amsterdam has three different Red Light Districts but the most famous and popular one is located inside the city centre.

A new law, likely to come into force next year, will also make it an offence, punishable by up to four years in jail, for punters to have sex with a prostitute they know – or suspect – has been trafficked.

source: dailymail.co.uk