Sex shops could be forced to move into Leicester city centre or face closure under strict new rules.

Leicester City Council is reviewing its policy for licensing the shops following a public consultation.

The authority wants to ban shops from trading outside the limits of the inner ring road and grant only three licences.

The proposal comes after what the council claims has been a massive increase in the number of applications for sex shops in the past six months.

Adult videos

Only one of the three current sex shops trading in the city is inside the area determined by the council.

It means two of the shops - one in London Road and the other in Narborough Road - will have to move if the policy is agreed at a meeting on Monday evening.

You have the choice to go into the shop or stay out of them Clive, sex shop manager

One of the two shops affected has been trading at its current location for about 10 years.

The legal definition of a sex shop is any premises used to a significant degree for hiring or selling sex articles, including adult videos and magazines.

Clive, who runs one of the shops affected, told BBC Radio Leicester that people had to be over 18 to enter the shops.

"When you over 18 you can protect yourself, you have the choice to go into the shops or stay out of them.

"So there is no reason why the council should protect the public."

The city could be overrun by these establishments Councillor Nigel Holden

But members of the city council have said the shops upset people living nearby.

Councillor Nigel Holden said certain groups "can be offended by having these premises in their local communities.

"What we are seeking to do is locate these establishments outside the communities where they may cause offence."

'Seedy' image

He said there were also fears that too many sex shops could spring up in the city if numbers were not limited.

"Clearly we could have a position where if there wasn't such a limit the city could be overrun by these establishments."

Clive, however, said the such premises suffered from a bad image.

"I think people are reluctant to come into sex shops because they class them as seedy.

"But our shops are not seedy at all. You come in here and it is nice and quiet and friendly."