A 22-year-old Brazilian man has been caught driving at an eye-watering 291 kilometres (181 miles) per hour on the German motorway, almost three times the speed limit, police said. Many stretches of Germany's extensive autobahn network have no speed limit but the area near Hamburg in the north where the man was caught had a 100-kph restriction.

Police attempted to give chase in an unmarked patrol car but the seven-series BMW with Polish number plates was too fast. He was eventually caught further on with the help of several police cars.

"Searching the boot of the car, police also recovered a small volume of drugs," a statement said. "The 22-year-old is now facing four points (on his licence), a three-month driving ban and an 1,800-euro ($2,545) fine."