A mysterious 1.5 metre, hollow metal ball that washed up on the coastline of Hamamatsu city in Japan has been claimed by Greece.

The Greeks claim that the ball is in fact part of the ninth wonder of the world, formerly known as 'The Tackle of Zeus', which fell off a giant bronze statue of the God and into the sea after an earthquake in the ancient world. No-one knows what happened to the other ball or the bit in between rumoured to be the size of Cleopatra's Needle.

Somehow the ball has managed to roll out of the Med and halfway around the world to Japan and like the Elgin Marbles, Greece wants it back.

After rioting broke out in Athens, a Greek spokesperson told FNN:

The return of the testicle of Zeus is essential for the rebuilding of the replica statue to be located on Lesbos and to ensure the proportions of Zeus's original tackle are correct.

Twitter is awash with posts with the hashtag #wewantourballback.