Police were alerted after the person came across a box in which legs and long blond hair were visible.

Initially, it was assumed a corpse had been found, the police in Offenbach, a city near Frankfurt, said on Friday.

But at the scene in the Rodenbach area officers quickly realised it was a sex doll that resembled a child.

The police are investigating the incident as a case of illegal waste disposal and also for "putting sex dolls with child-like appearance on the market."

Australian Associated Press