麻豆约拍

There's nothing like a busker to divide opinion.

To some, they offer blissful relief from the everyday - from that draining commute to work, for example.

To others, though, they're an ear-bending, noisy nuisance.

Now, amid what the poet Matthew Arnold called the dreaming spires of Oxford in Britain, the city council is hoping to introduce penalties to help enforce a buskers' code of conduct.

They face fines of up to $1,500 for sins including making too much noise, or even failing to smile.

The 麻豆约拍's Lilley Mitchell reports.