Elmstein, Germany - A rescue helicopter was dispatched to rescue a man whose laughter was mistaken for screams, German police said Monday.

A woman told the police she heard a man in his car screaming for three hours in a forest in the town of Elmstein in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

When officers reached the scene, it turned out the man was simply enjoying a day out and reading a funny book which made him laugh out loud.

The police did not say what rip-roaring yarn the man had been enjoying. (dpa)