Police in the western German town of Bergisch Gladbach have been ordering takeaway McDonalds for inmates after a food supply contract fell through at the start of March, local media reported on Monday.

The inmates of the short term facility are given the choice of a hamburger, a cheeseburger or a veggieburger for lunch and a McToast with cheese, ham and bacon for breakfast, Cologne tabloid "Express" reported. Bigger burgers were reportedly too expensive.

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The inmates mark off their choices and officers pick up their orders from a McDonalds branch 160 meters away, it reported.

The catering business cancelled the prison contract shortly after its main client in the town, the local hospital, ended its business dealings with the firm. So a quick replacement needed to be found.

"The location and the round-the-clock availability made us decide in favor of McDonalds," police spokesman Richard Barz told local paper "Bergische Landeszeitung."

In 2016 the police distributed approximately 300 meals to inmates, with 642 people spending time in the cells, the paper reported.

The state interior ministry told "Express" that McDonalds did not fit regulations and was an "emergency solution."

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