German doctors have told people they should walk like penguins to avoid falling over in icy conditions.

Surgeons from the German Society of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery advised that pedestrians lean forward slightly as they walk, placing their centre of gravity over their front front to help avoid a slip with the temperature due to drop well below freezing, Reuters reported.

Waddling like a penguin is distinct from the normal human gait, in which body weight is split more or less evenly over both legs.

Berlin city authorities faced criticism in 2014 for failing to spread grit on pavements even though weather forecasters had warned of freezing conditions.

Reuters said rescue services received 750 calls that January and doctors were overwhelmed by the number of bone fracture cases.