Greece is mounting a nationwide effort to remove "eye candy" billboards from roadsides, amid growing evidence that images of women wearing not very much contribute to Europe's worst road accident figures.

With 15,000 hoardings in the capital alone, drivers are distracted by "unacceptable levels of eye candy", say campaigners who have convinced the courts to rule that all roadside adverts be dismantled.

Billboards invariably depict svelte females in outre poses. "Many of them not only hide traffic lights and road signs, they are put up illegally," said an Athens traffic police official.
"We believe they are the cause of 10% of all accidents in the city."

Driving in Greece is not for the faint-hearted. More than 2,000 people die on the roads annually; another 4,000 are seriously injured in 22,000 car accidents a year - one every 24 minutes.