Urban Lore: Poo Pranksters

POLICE HOPING TO RED-FLAG 'POO PRANKSTERS" (another laugh courtesy of Splinters)

Berlin - German police have their hands full - pranksters in Berlin have been sticking miniature American flags into piles of dog poop in public parks.

The series of incidents was originally thought to be in protest against the United States-led invasion of Iraq.

But then it continued through US President George Bush's re-election.

Police say they are completely baffled by these events, which have been going on for a year.

"We have sent out extra patrols to try to catch whoever is doing this in the act," said police spokesperson Reiner Kuechler.

"But frankly, we don't know what we would do if we caught them red-handed."

Josef Oettl, parks administrator for Bayreuth, said: "This has been going on for about a year now, and there must be 2 000 to 3 000 piles of excrement that have been claimed during that time."

Legal experts say there is no law against using faeces as a flag stand and the federal constitution is vague on the issue. - Ananova.com