Sex workers in Amsterdam’s red light district will be able to work until 6 am again, rather than 3 am, for their personal safety, Amsterdam’s mayor Femke Halsema has decided.

Window brothel opening hours were reduced last year in an effort to reduce public nuisance, but the early closure has put sex workers at risk because there is less social control on the streets, Halsema said in a briefing to councillors on Tuesday.

When the new red light district opening hours were introduced, with a 2 am closure for cafes and bars, sex workers were the only ones at work. Early closing has also hit their earnings hard, boosting stress and forcing some to tout for customers on the streets or to work illegally. 

The shorter café and bar opening hours will not change because this has had a positive impact on the problems experienced by locals, council officials say. 

Sofyan Mbarki, the city official charged with solving problems in the medieval city centre, has admitted that local residents have not yet noticed much of a change, despite the measures introduced to cut down on nuisance tourism.

He has also pledged to expand the “stay away” campaign warning issued to British youngsters last year to German, French and Dutch tourists. 

However, council research suggests the campaign, which warned of the dangers of taking drugs and drinking too much, had flopped and had not led to a reduction in the number of British visitors.