A German town is installing traffic lights on the ground to protect mobile phone users.

Authorities in the town of Augsburg say distracted smartphone users put themselves at risk by not looking up while crossing roads, so they have put traffic lights in the pavement.

The flashing LEDs are located at two crossings that university students use to access public transport.

Authorities are considering rolling them out across the rest of the city, after a trial period.

It may be the first time in-ground lights are used for pedestrians glued to their screens, but Augsburg is not the first city to take action.

A shopping mall in the UK put in “pedestrian fast lanes” last year, to move pavement hoggers and other dawdlers out of the way of others.

Shop owners painted new markings on the pavement their stores after research showed the slow pace of pedestrian to be a major shopping annoyance.