BADGER IS INNOCENT! Bloodcurdling Screams Alert Police.

Several people in the small town of Linz, located on the Rhine river in western Germany, had phoned the authorities after hearing screams coming from a nearby forest.

Alarmed by the reports, the police station called for a helicopter search, which was carried out with special night vision to scan local woodland.

"Nervous residents rang the police station and said they had heard several loud, frightened screams of a woman in a forest nearby," said a police spokesman in Linz, known for its colourful wooden houses.

But after the helicopters had thoroughly surveyed the area, they discovered a far less murderous cause of the chilling cries than had originally been feared.

Instead of a violent maniac and his terrified victim, they discovered a number of romantically inclined badgers engaged in the pursuit of love.

"Subsequent enquiries found that the mating calls of a badger during the mating season in July and August are easily mistaken for human screaming," said the police.