Two hundred yards from the Colosseum - where condemned men once fought wild animals - modern-day prison inmates face a rather different task: cleaning up rubbish in a park frequented by dog walkers and toddlers.

In a first for Italy, 14 prisoners in blue denim shirts and brown trousers were at work on Tuesday in Rome’s Oppian Hill park, using rakes and shovels to collect rubbish and tip it into black plastic bags.

With the uppermost levels of the Colosseum looming between the pine trees, they were guarded by prison officers in blue berets, who provided security and outnumbered the inmates three to one.

The initiative, organised by Rome council, will benefit parks and gardens across the capital, eventually involving 100 prisoners.

They will be put to work in places like Villa Sciarra, a once elegant, palm-lined park on the Janiculum Hill which has been badly damaged by vandalism and neglect, and Piazza Vittorio, a colonnaded square in the city centre which has also seen better days.