The thieves made off with their grape haul by “running a professional harvesting machine over the entire vineyard”, police in southern Germany told the Rheinpfalz newspaper.

The group stole 1,600kg of white grapes used to make Riesling wine, a quantity worth about €8,000, or £7,110.

Authorities are looking for any information on the incident as it is not the first to occur in the Rhineland-Palatinate Region.

In 2017, 600-800kg of grapes were stolen in the surrounding district of Bad Duerkheim.