Motorists in southern Italy must have thought they had hit the jackpot after spotting piles of euro coins on a motorway.

A security lorry carrying some two million euros $2.5m) in one and two-euro coins overturned near Foggia.

The accident dislodged the boxes on board which burst open as they hit the ground, paving a vast stretch of the road with “gold”.

Before the police arrived, some drivers stopped their cars and made off with at least 10,000 euros.

One witness told a local TV station: “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. People were stopping on the motorway risking their lives to pick up the coins.

‘It was a real free for all and I am amazed no-one was killed as people were running across the lanes to reach the coins.’

Police have appealed for the public “to return the money to its rightful owners”.

Via BBC – Photos: AP / DailyMail