Laura Maggi, Le Cafe Sexpresso, Bagnolo Mella, Italy

After eight years running a bar, Laura Maggi suddenly found men beating a path to her door. Not for the quality of her coffee and aperitifs, but because she had started appearing for work in highly revealing outfits.
Hundreds of male customers flocked there day and night, leaving their cars double parked in the surrounding streets. Congestion became such a problem that the lady mayor announced she was considering an emergency bylaw to limit traffic in the area.
Now women in the small northern Italian town of Bagnolo Mella have declared Le Cafe out of bounds to their menfolk – and 34-year-old Miss Maggi has become a national celebrity. Yesterday she was a guest on the Italian equivalent of This Morning and said: ‘I don’t see what the problem is – it’s just a bit of harmless fun.