India has hiked Taj Mahal ticket prices by around 400 per cent to reduce tourist numbers and prevent damage to the marble floors and walls.

The latest move to preserve the UNESCO world heritage site comes after the government limited visitor numbers to 40,000 a day.

Previously up to 70,000 people would flock to the monument at weekends.

Locals will now pay 250 rupees (£2.20) instead of 50 rupees (55p) while there has also been a 15 per cent hike for foreigners, raising prices from around £13 to £15.

India has hiked Taj Mahal (pictured) ticket prices to reduce tourist numbers and prevent damage to the marble floors and walls

Indians make up the majority of the Taj Mahal's 10,000-15,000 average daily visitors. Nearly 6.5 million people marvelled at the white marble 17th-century masterpiece in 2016.

'We want people to pay more to limit the footfall,'said an official from the Archaeological Survey of India, the government body responsible for upkeep.

'This will cut down the number of visitors to the mausoleum by at least 15-20 percent and generate revenue for its conservation,' the official said.

Experts say the huge flow of people is causing irreversible damage to the marble floor, walls and foundations.

Officials have also struggled to stop the white marble from turning yellow as pollution levels rise in the northern city of Agra.

Further damage is being caused by excrement by insects from the noxious adjacent Yamuna river, one of India's most polluted waterways.

Experts say the huge flow of people is causing irreversible damage to the marble floor, walls and foundations

In July, India's Supreme Court threatened to either shut or tear down the monument over the failure of the authorities to protect it from degradation.

The court asked the Indian authorities to consult international experts to speed up the conservation efforts.

The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal.