A German man who hid 23,000 deutschmarks (€11,800) in his underpants during a train journey for safety's sake lost the money while going to the toilet, police said Monday.

However, police from this northern German town managed to find the money on the railway line after the passenger told them how he had lost his savings, with which he planned to buy car.

The 36-year-old man hid the money in his underpants for fear of pickpockets but forgot it was there when he went to the toilet, where he inadvertently flushed the stash onto the track.