A man in Germany has died after blowing up a condom machine in an apparent robbery attempt on Christmas Day.

The 29-year-old man was hit in the head by a piece of metal from the machine as he attempted to take cover from the explosion.

He was accompanied by two other men who escaped the explosion and fled the scene in a car, leaving money, condoms and the pieces of the vending machine scattered in their wake.

The man was taken to hospital by his two accomplices in the western German town of Schoeppingen, near the Dutch border.

The two men then attempted to tell hospital staff their friend had injured his head by falling down the stairs, but staff grew suspicious of the story and called police.

Police said that during questioning one of the men admitted the group had blown up the condom machine and that their friend had been hit in the head by a flying piece of metal as he tried to protect himself from the explosion.

Additional reporting by Reuters