A man tried to set his daughter alight because the clothes she was wearing were “too western”, but his lighter malfunctioned and she managed to run away, Italian media report.

The incident took place in the northern town of Arcade, close to Treviso.

The 15-year-old girl was deemed by the father as being too western because the dress she was wearing had short sleeves.

Her father doused her in fuel, but the lighter malfunctioned. The police later arrested the man, of Moroccan origin but who has lived in Italy for 15 years, after the mother reported the incident.