'It is Macabre and Pitiless'

It's a dying business.

Undertakers have sparked controversy by parking a hearse at a notorious accident blackspot in Austria with an advert saying: 'We're always ready for you.'

'It is macabre and pitiless,' said Town Hall spokesman Ernst Sprinzl in Schaerding, Austria.

He admitted, however, that advertising was permissible as long as it was not immoral.

Mr Sprinzl acknowledged that the advertisement was legal but said he doubted it would have the desired result.

The head of the advertising agency responsible for the initiative said: 'We want to go to the edge but remain respectful.'

He added he hoped it would make drivers slow down at the junction which claims up to five lives a year.

The spokesman said the agency was planning another initiative, a calendar with different models of coffins next to scantily clad women.

Now that's thinking outside the box, so to speak.