Simon Laprise, 33, an artist and machinist, had built the car outside his house after heavy snowfall earlier this month.

“I decided to do something out of the mountain of snow, to do a little joke to the snow guys, and have fun sculpting a car,” he told VICE.

The Montreal artist’s snow sculpture was a replica of a DeLorean DMC-12, the car from the Back to the Future films.

Mr Laprise had intended to fool the snow removal team rather than the police with his prank. Parking in a snow removal zone is prohibited in certain parts of Canada when snow ploughs are active.

But police were delighted with the sculpture, with one officer writing a note that said “you made our night! Hahahahaha”.

Mr Laprise said officers paid him a visit the following day to figure out how he had made the work of art.

Local media reported that snow ploughs later destroyed the sculpture.