A car thief who stole a car in Germany and drove it into the Netherlands has turned himself in to police after noticing two little girls asleep on the back seat, according to German media reports.

The man stole the car in Herzogenrath, just over the German border, after the woman driver left it with the key in the ignition when she went to buy ice cream on Friday afternoon.

It was only when he crossed into Kerkrade – which butts onto the German village – that the 33-year-old thief spotted the two girls, aged two and three, asleep in the back. He then drove to the nearest police station and turned himself in.

In the meantime, a massive police operation was underway in Germany to try to find the car and the missing girls. Once German police were alerted, the mother was taken to Kerkrade to be reunited with her children.

They had barely noticed anything about the incident, Nos television said.