The village of Obereichstaett in Bavaria is building a foot-high wall around its boundary to keep out millipedes, which has been coming by the thousands every autumn for centuries.

Local residents say the scene of the unwelcome invaders which fill up their streets, gardens and homes, is reminiscent of a horror film.

"Last year was the worst so far," said Bernhard Koderer, 45, who lives with his wife and two children. "The road to my house was completely covered."

"You couldn't take a step without crushing a dozen underfoot. The smell was disgusting."

Hans Harrer, the village mayor, said they tried a complete blackout on street lamps in the autumn as a solution but it did not work.

The mayor added zoologists who were called in were puzzled as to where the millipedes came from.

Ruling out poisoning the thousand-legged creatures, the zoologist instead helped design a metal-lined wall with an overhanging lip.