The US state of New Jersey is using one of its most famous sons to help enforce social distancing rules.

It is urging residents to keep at least "one Springsteen" of space between themselves and others during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Boss, as the veteran rocker is known, was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, in 1949.

Image: Springsteen on stage in New York in December

In a tweet, the New Jersey government showed a picture him alongside a scale going up to six feet.

In the image, Springsteen is longer than the scale - suggesting that the advice, as in the UK, is to keep two metres away from others. That is just over six-and-a-half feet.


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There is only one problem though: an online search shows Springsteen is five feet ten.

Were you to use the real Bruce as a measurement, therefore, "one Springsteen" would not be enough.

A Twitter user who pointed this out said the rocker would need to be holding "a nice Italian sub" - possibly because Springsteen has some Italian heritage.

Someone else said he measured "all things in Springsteens".

And a third person pondered: "How many Bon Jovis is that?"