A cigarette vending machine had apparently taken four euros of the man's money without dispensing a packet of cigarettes in return.

The 38-year-old then called the police emergency line. He was going mad, he said, and offered to help the machine along with the use of some tools.

After police warned the caller that any such action could constitute criminal damage, a resident later reported that someone had attacked the vending machine with a hammer.

The nicotine-deprived smoker was nabbed shortly afterwards in the area, still without his cigarettes, and now faces charges of damaging property.