A married man, suspected of prostituting his blind lover, was arrested in Thessaloniki yesterday, police said.

The 45-year-old, as yet unnamed, suspect was picked up by undercover officers in an apartment in the Pano Poli district of the northern city. Officers say the flat was being used as an impromptu brothel where the 29-year-old woman, who was also arrested, was paid to have sex with strangers she was introduced to by her boyfriend.

The man found clients for his lover by placing classified ads in local papers, police said. He is thought to have convinced the woman that this was the only way they could glean enough money to get married.

The suspect had been arrested on suspicion of pandering the woman in the past but was found innocent. The woman has been placed in the care of a social worker and is under the watch of a psychologist.