According to reports, Fei Lin, 41, from Niqiao village near Wenling City, had been asleep when thieves broke into his bedroom and put a bag over his head.

Lin apparently told police: "They put something over my head and pulled down my trousers and then they ran off.

"I was so shocked I didn't feel a thing - then I saw I was bleeding and my penis was gone."

Rumour has it that Lin was having affairs with "several" local women, which police believe could have been the motivation behind the penis theft. The theory goes that jealous lovers of the women banded together to teach Lin a lesson.

However, Lin has denied any infidelity.

Emergency personnel and police searched for Lin's missing penis but were unable to recover it. Police will likely now look into men connected to the local women that Lin was rumoured to be having affairs with.

Lin is now recovering in hospital.