Police in Taiwan were hunting two backpackers who shocked locals when they started sunbathing in the middle of a road.

The shirtless lads laid out a pink towel on the tarmac at a busy junction in Changhua County on Sunday afternoon.

Wearing their swimming shorts and both sporting beards and long hair, they then reclined as they soaked up the sun.

Baffled locals took pictures of the pair before they were reported to the police. Officers arrived shortly after 4.40pm but the men had already disappeared after the incident.

Confused residents joked that the lads had become lost and ''mistaken Taiwan for Hawaii''. Lin Xuxu said: ''Foreigners should know that you can't come to Taiwan and use the road for tanning.'' Huang Jiasong added: ''Is this normal abroad? I've never seen people go sunbathing on the road before.'' Others urged drivers passing through the busy intersection to ''be careful'' while some said there are ''handsome and domineering half-naked men'' in the road.

Wang Yingzhou, the head of the Lushan Police Station, said they were alerted to the bizarre behaviour at 4.40pm and immediately deployed officers.

He added: ''Two foreigners were sunbathing there. We immediately sent staff to the scene, but the two men had left and could not be found. Pedestrians are not allowed to stay on the road, and they are not allowed to lie there to sunbathe.''

According to the country's road laws, running, chasing, swimming, sitting or lying on frequent traffic routes is enough to hinder traffic and will impose a fine of 300 Taiwanese dollars (7.50GBP).

Police in Taiwan were hunting two backpackers who shocked locals - when they started sunbathing in the middle of a road.

The shirtless lads laid out a pink towel on the tarmac at a busy junction in Changhua County on Sunday afternoon.

Wearing their swimming shorts and both sporting beards and long hair, they then reclined as they soaked up the sun.

Baffled locals took pictures of the pair before they were reported to police. Officers arrived shortly after 4.40pm but the men had already disappeared after the incident.

Confused residents joked that the lads had become lost and ''mistaken Taiwan for Hawaii''. Lin Xuxu said: ''Foreigners should know that you can't come to Taiwan and use the road for tanning.'' Huang Jiasong added: ''Is this normal abroad? I've never seen people go sunbathing in the road before.'' Others urged drivers passing through the busy intersection to ''be careful'' while some said there are ''handsome and domineering half-naked men'' in the road.

Wang Yingzhou, the head of the Lushan Police Station, said they were alerted to the bizarre behaviour at 4.40pm and immediately deployed officers.

He added: ''Two foreigners were sunbathing there. We immediately sent staff to the scene, but the two men had left and could not be found. Pedestrians are not allowed to stay in the road, and they are not allowed to lie there to sunbathe.''

According to the country's road laws, running, chasing, swimming, sitting or lying on frequent traffic routes is enough to hinder traffic and will impose a fine of 300 Taiwanese dollars (7.50GBP).