Austrian experts are investigating a mysterious metal ball weighing four tonnes after it was dug up during work to build a road at Waizenkirchen at Grieskirchen in Upper Austria.

The discovery has caused heated debate among locals with some saying it was a meteorite, others that it was a religious artefact. It has also attracted the attention of local UFO watchers who believe it may have been left by aliens.

The owner of the lane had filed a claim for the ball with local police sparking an angry row with the man who spotted the object first while walking his dog - and who carved his name in the surface to prove he found it first.

He has already said he wants to sell it to the highest bidder and said offers under a six figure sum will not be accepted.

Meanwhile the local mayor has arranged for an expert witness to head over from Vienna to examine the ball that is already being hailed as the "historic find of the decade."

Expert Josef Rabeder said he had ordered work on the road to be stopped while the historical significance of the find was evaluated.

He said: "There is a lot of speculation going on - now we need to establish some facts and gather some hard evidence."