A man who sold his car while drunk woke up the following morning and reported it stolen to police, New Zealand media have reported. 

The hungover man told officers at Rotorua police station that his car was missing and must have been stolen overnight - forgetting that he had flogged it for $800 the previous night to bankroll his boozing. 

Police at the station checked their records and subsequently told the two men to sort the matter out between themselves, according to the New Zealand Herald. 

"The lesson here is don't drink and sell cars," a police spokesman said.