A Chinese man was caught out when 17 of his girlfriends turned up to see him in hospital after a car accident, the BBC reports.

The man, identified as Mr Yuan from the city of Changsha, in Hunan province, had apparently been dating all the women at the same time, and even has a child with one of them. While he managed to string the women along for months, or in some cases years, the game was up when doctors contacted his loved ones after the accident.

"I was really worried when I heard that he was in hospital," Xiao Li, who has been seeing Mr Yuan for 18 months, told the local Xiaoxiang Chen Bao paper. "But when I started seeing more and more beautiful girls show up, I couldn't cry any more." She says other women have given him financial support, with one handing over money for nine years. Another girlfriend told the paper that she had already started planning their wedding.

The story has taken off among Chinese social media users, with thousands of comments posted about Mr Yuan's exploits. But not everyone is critical - some users admire his multitasking, and others think the women should have spotted something was amiss. As for Mr Juan, his troubles have only just begun - police officers have now launched an investigation into allegations of fraud.