Pat On The Back From Manure Explosive

A traffic cop in Austria got more than he bargained for after a booby trap covered him head-to-toe in manure as he was trying to catch people speeding.

Police said an explosive put in a plastic bucket filled with liquid manure was set to detonate when somebody triggered a fishing line placed nearby.

PC Gunther Maier, 58, was not hurt in the blast and detectives said the device was most likely designed by an irate motorist to humiliate officers rather than cause injury. But they warned that if they caught those responsible they would face serious consequences and most likely jail as the illegal explosive could have easily caused serious harm.

Police spokesman Rainer Dionisio said: “What could have happened if the officer had been nearer the explosives, or if a child had set it off? It doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Police said the trap had gone off when the traffic police officer was about 3 metres away from the device hidden on the side of the road on the Moelltal state highway in Austria. The site is commonly used by police for laser-based speed monitoring.

A garden spade and garden gloves were leaning against the bucket containing the bovine excrement. The force of the explosion destroyed the garden tool’s wooden handle and also blew up the bucket.