A Mexican has stolen a hearse with the corpse of an 80-year-old man inside it from a hospital.

According to the Tlaquepaque police department, the hearse was being readied to take the body of an 80-year-old man from a hospital in neighbouring Guadalajara to a funeral home, when the suspected thief, a 40-year-old man admitted that he saw the car keys still in the ignition and decided to take it, reports Metro UK.

The police were alerted and they soon spotted the hearse along a highway and detained the suspect, whose name was given only as Annibal Saul N.

Police said on Saturday that he will be arraigned in court.

Agency Report