Job centre advertises for naked cleaner, £10 an hour (but only £6 if you're fully clothed)

The advert is one you might expect to see in a top shelf magazine or on an X-rated internet site.

But the job of naked domestic help is one of the positions Southampton Jobcentre Plus has been offering to the Hampshire city's unemployed.

Behind closed doors: The Southampton job centre which advertised the vacancy for naked cleaners

The advert, from a company called Knobs 'n' Knockers, says: 'Required for household cleaning duties in the nude. Pinny provided. Must have pleasant nature.'

Lucky applicants could expect to earn £10 an hour - compared with £6 for fully-clothed cleaners.

In its advert, the company stated it was looking for applicants of either sex to make washing-up and ironing more erotic for its punters in the South-East.

The advert urged candidates to send an email outlining their credentials for the role.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said it could not refuse to carry the advert.

She said: 'Jobcentre Plus has a duty to advertise any legal job. Legal vacancies within the adult industry come within this.

'In 2003, the High Court overturned Jobcentre Plus's policy which did not accept certain types of adverts connected with the sex and personal services industries.'

She added: 'We have safeguards in place to ensure customers are fully aware of the nature of these jobs.'

One of the first people to spot the unusual advert was Derek Burrows of Southampton who said: 'At first I thought it was a joke.'

Jeff Manuel, 37, a photographer, from Southampton, said he would not be applying, adding: 'I don't really have the figure for it but you're bound to find someone applying - desperate people do desperate things.'

Lisa Girling, 37, a car rental company worker, admitted she would consider hiring a naked cleaner, saying: 'As long as he looks good, it wouldn't be a problem, George Clooney definitely.'