Now, secret lunch-hour sterilisations offered to women!

In fact, a private clinic claims that it is the first in the UK to offer a "walk in - walk out" ten minute procedure which permanently renders a woman infertile, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

"Women can elect to have the quick and painless procedure when it suits them -- and their partner won't be able to tell," a promotional advertisement by Cadogan Clinic in Knightsbridge said.

According to consultant gynaecologist Martin Farrugia, who works for the clinic, some women did not want to tell their partners that they did not want any children, or that they felt their family was complete.

Farrugia said: "There are many reasons why a woman might choose to have this treatment here; privacy is certainly one of the advantages of the procedure -- there are no scars, so women can take control over the decision."

The operation, called Essure, involves inserting two tiny metal coils through the vagina with the aid of a hysteroscope into both Fallopian tubes. In three months, the tissue around it grows, blocking the tubes entirely.

The clinic said the procedure was a "particularly important option for women from cultures that frown on contraception, but who want to take control of their own fertility, possibly without their partner's knowledge".

However, experts have criticised the procedure.

Dr Allan Pacey, a fertility lecturer at the University of Sheffield said: "This seems really sad -- it looks like a worrying and cynical attempt to trade on dishonesty... Taking a step like this behind a partner's back is so dysfunctional, and if women are doing it just so they can sleep around, they are leaving their partner at all sorts of risks."