Swedish authorities don't see the funny side of this giant ice penis

In the early hours of Monday 19 February, the Swedish city of Gothenburg discovered it had a new hero - whose decidedly unorthodox (and downright childish) calling card created quite the stir.

When 79-year-old Åke Lindgren woke, opened his curtains and surveyed his prime view of the city's King's Park, replete with grand moat, he chuckled. In the dead of night, someone had carefully stepped onto the frozen lake, shuffled their feet around in awkward fashion and leapt back to the shore. They left this behind...

"I have explained the story many, many times now," Lindgren told local paper Aftonbladet (literally translated as The Local). "But it's funny! The penis is still there, I can still see it."

Darko Brankovic didn't see the funny side of it. Director of the Parks and Landscape Management in Gothenburg, he felt the "artwork" was inappropriate. However, his park management team judged that the ice was "too thin" to allow them to walk across the moat and safely clear the offending phallus from the snow. 

The park workers were apparently keen to get in on the joke though - suggesting that the Vallgraven ("moat" in Swedish) have its name temporarily changed to "Ballgraven".

Woefully, one of the workers had a bright idea, and fetched a long broom to help erase the issue. Spoil sport...