Business is booming at a German brothel next to a dole office which is offering a special discount rate for the unemployed.

The owners of Berlin's Schulz & Co brothel have introduced special rates of just £10 pounds for the country's growing number of jobless men.

Jobless Bernd Gramm, 48, said: Before I could only have my fun once every couple of months, if that. But now I can go twice a month for a rock-bottom price, and the quality of the service still remains the same.

Gina, one of the brothel's employees, said: Monday was always a slow day and we never used to have more than three clients. But this Monday we have already had twenty.

She added: The dole office is right next door and people are literally bursting in. We give them the same service, just without the long talks that we usually do to get a client going. At that price we can't afford to waste that much time.