Adolf Hitler's Mercedes has reportedly been purchased by a Russian billionaire for an estimated ￡5m.

The midnight blue 770 K was bought together with seven other vehicles used by Nazi leaders that had been stored in a garage in Western Germany.

Duesseldorf car dealer Michael Froehlich told the Cologne Express: "On Wednesday I got a tip-off whom it had been sold to. It belonged to a private collector and was in a garage in Bielefeld.

"I checked with prosecutors... whether the deal was illegal. They raised no objections as long as there were no Nazi symbols visible."

Froehlich had matched the 1A 148461 number plate to photographs of Hitler in the car after recovering the original repair logs and documents.