Chaos in hospital after man is visited by all his 17 girlfriends after crash – all thought they were his only girlfriend

China:  Having two girlfriends turn up at the hospital when you have been in a crash can be embarrassing - but when 17 show up, it’s just chaos.

It seems a Chinese man was caught out when his army of lovers turned up to see him.

Identified only as Mr Yuan from the city of Changsha, in Hunan province, he had apparently been dating all the women at the same time, and even has a child with one of them, the South China Morning Post reports.

While he managed to string the women along for months, or in some cases years, the game was up when doctors contacted his loved ones after the accident.

"I was really worried when I heard that he was in hospital," Xiao Li, who has been seeing Mr Yuan for 18 months, told the local Xiaoxiang Chen Bao paper.

"But when I started seeing more and more beautiful girls show up, I couldn't cry any more."

She says other women have given him financial support, with one handing over money for nine years. Another girlfriend told the paper that she had already started planning their wedding.

The story has taken off among Chinese social media users, with thousands of comments posted about Mr Yuan's exploits.

But not everyone is critical - some users admire his multitasking, and others think the women should have spotted something was amiss.

As for Mr Yuan, his troubles have only just begun - police officers have now launched an investigation into allegations of fraud.