Angry Frenchman chops off ear

Van Gogh painted himself after lopping off his own ear

An angry resident of Brittany has become the second Frenchman this month to chop off a part of his anatomy as a protest statement.

The man sent a piece of his ear to the French Justice Ministry to express his outrage at the repossession of his house by bailiffs.

True to the style of the Dutch master Vincent Van Gogh, who painted Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear after cutting off his own lobe in a rage, the angry man also included a picture of himself.

"It appears that the picture was taken immediately after the deed had been performed," a ministry spokesman told BBC News Online.

Chopping trend

A letter which accompanied the package asked the ministry to send the flesh on to the bailiff responsible for the confiscation of the man's house.

The man wrote that the bailiff had said he "would have my hide", and that the ear was designed to show that this was indeed the case.

But the ministry has not complied with the man's wishes - instead they have sent the package to the local police in Brittany to investigate the matter further.

They will be asked to establish whether the man is a "danger to himself", the spokesman said.

Just two weeks ago, a Frenchman shocked the Colombian nation by chopping off his own finger with an axe in protest at a high-profile kidnapping.

Pierre Pinoncelli committed the act of self-mutilation, apparently in homage to Ingrid Betancourt, a candidate in last month's presidential election who was kidnapped by Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in February.