A man in south-eastern Germany who called police to report a possible gas leak in his apartment building turned out to have been smelling his neighbour's cooked sauerkraut.

Police, the local volunteer fire brigade and the Bavarian Red Cross arrived at the man's building, located in the Bavarian town of Waldkraiburg, last night to investigate a suspected gas leak, but their gas meters showed no sign of toxic fumes.

An investigation showed that the building was not heated with gas and that the suspicious smell reported by the man was sauerkraut (fermented cabbage dish toften closely associated with Germany) recently cooked by his neighbour.

- dpa