Motorist caught playing flute at 80mph

11/09/2003 19:24

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police have caught a man playing the flute with both hands as he sped through traffic at 130 kph (80 mph) on a busy highway.

"He was leaning back in the seat and steering the car with his knees and feet," said Johann Bohnert, a spokesman for police in the town of Traunstein near the Austrian border. "He looked like he’d had practice." He now faces a fine of 50 euros (35.2 pounds).

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The 52-year-old from Salzburg in Austria, birthplace of Mozart, the composer whose works include the opera "The Magic Flute", told police he was not actually blowing the instrument. "He said he was just practising fingerings," said Bohnert.

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