Road sign sex change

A Spanish town council has vowed to banish sexism from street signage by demanding half of all road signs and traffic lights show female figures with skirts and ponytails.

Fuenlabrada, which lies south of the capital Madrid, will replace old and damaged road signs and traffic lights with new stock within a year.

"In this way the sexism which until now has seen only masculine figures appear in traffic signals will be brought to an end," the town council said in a statement.

The council, which said it would ask manufacturers to incorporate female figures in their signs, would not cost taxpayers a penny.