Frankfurt cops are hunting for thieves who stole a mile and a half of the central reservation of the A6 motorway in Vierheim.

Police believe the gang must have used specialised equipment to dismantle the length of barrier, which weighed over 20 tonnes.

"We are puzzled how the thieves were able to escape with their load without anyone noticing," said a police spokesman. "So far we have not been able to find a single witness who would have seen a large number of people with a huge truck moving a motorway's central reservation."

Mysterious indeed. If that shifty-looking bloke at your local market tries to flog you a few hundred metres of dented metal this Saturday, you know who to call...