Police say caps are intended to protect the offenders from the sun

Punishment causes controversy as 'wearing a green hat' is also a derogatory expression in Chinese

Offenders are asked to wear green hats and become traffic wardens

More than 1,000 officers are being deployed to catch jaywalkers

Pedestrians who ignore the red man signal when crossing the road are a serious problem in the busy cities of China.

So much so that the traffic police in Shenzhen, southern China, have come up with a bizarre tactic to humiliate jaywalkers: making them wear a green baseball cap.

'Wearing a green hat' is a derogatory expression in Chinese used to refer to a man whose wife has cheated on him.

Shamed: Those who ignore the red signal at crossings in Shenzhen, southern China, have to wear green hats

I'm too embarrassed! Police launched the initiative to try and stop people from jaywalking in the busy city

In the new educational campaign, more than 1,000 officers are being deployed every day to catch those who break traffic regulations in the city, which has a population of more than 10 million.

Those caught jaywalking are given the choice of wearing the green hat, along with a matching hi-vis vest, or paying a fine of 20 Yuan (£2), reported the People's Daily Online.

Offenders who choose to wear the hat have to help traffic police catch other jaywalkers for a short period of time.

A jaywalker, who is only known as Mr Zhu, said he found it so humiliating to wear a green hat that he chose to pay the fine.

Singled out: 'Wearing a green hat' is an expression used to refer to a man whose wife has cheated on him

Officers have also been posting photographs of offenders on Chinese social media in the hope that the public shaming will stop them from doing it again.

But officials say the baseball caps are simply intended to protect the offenders from the sun while they go on patrol with officers.

The 'green hat' campaign will run for a month to try and improve road safety in the city.

Officials say that 127,000 people were caught jaywalking in Shenzhen during the first half of the year.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 200,000 people die on Chinese roads every year.