A man in Germany took matters into his own hands, literally, in his impending divorce: he chainsawe a family home in two and carted his half away in a forklift truck.

The 43-year-old German is a trained mason, police said, and measured the one-story summer house before sawing through the wooden roof and walls.

"The man said he was just taking his due," said a police spokesman. "But I don't think his wife was too pleased."

He drove his half of the house to his brother's home, where he has since been staying.