There was a time when the world’s oldest profession dealt strictly in cash. Now, with petrol prices at record levels and money in short supply, even prostitutes are prepared to change with the times.

Last week Angelina Eversole, 34, from Kentucky, was charged with selling prostitution services for a $100 (£50) pre-paid petrol voucher, effectively offering herself for 25 gallons of unleaded. Mrs Eversole’s arrest marks the latest consequence of the rising petrol price, which has increased 39 per cent in 12 months.

According to the American Automobile Association, the average cost of a gallon of unleaded in the US is now $4.098 (£2), the highest ever. Californians endure the highest petrol prices in the country with a gallon of unleaded reaching $4.79 in Orange County.

Local governments, school districts and police authorities — groups that are forced to stick to fixed annual budgets — are considering ways of reducing their fuel bills as prices show no sign of slowing.

Last month the state of Arkansas approved a proposal to consider introducing a four-day week for public servants. The move, last introduced during the oil crisis of 1973, would be designed to reduce the number of trips that commuters need to make each week.

Tracy Steele, the senator in North Little Rock who has devised the plan, told a House and Senate committee meeting in Washington: “It’s getting worse by the day, the pain is real.” In Baltimore, Maryland, county officials have told policemen to turn air-conditioning off in their cars to conserve fuel. If travelling faster than 55 miles per hour, officers have been told to wind their windows up to prevent unnecessary drag on the car.

In the same state, James Teare, the Anne Arundel County police chief, has also told his officers to increase the number of foot patrols rather than take to their cars. While the measure is being considered by a number of forces across the country, it has also been met with derision.

Harold Hurtt, chief of the police department, said: “When you put people on foot, they can only cover small areas, and the response time is only as fast as they can run.”

The city council in Holly Springs, Georgia, has introduced a fuel surcharge for speeding offences where motorists fined for traffic or vehicle violations will have to pay an extra $12. The city expects to derive around $20,000 this year from the additional fee. The measure has inspired public officials in Erie, Pennsylvania, to follow suit.

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