Employees spotted the suspicious ad after it had been live for around 30 minutes

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An advert was listed on the online shopping website offering the 40-day-old girl to random bidders.

The seller, who used the name 'refrigerator', posted on Tuesday in broken German: "He is a small child, the 40 days old named Maria, who sell me more."

Employees spotted the suspicious ad after it had been live for around 30 minutes, blocked it and phoned the police.

A spokesman said: "There is no room for abominable offers such as these.