A nine-year-old Dutch boy was left by mistake at a German petrol station on the A3 near Frankfurt by his mother, German media reported.

On Saturday morning the boy and his mother stopped for petrol at the German Tankstelle, the Frankfurter Allgemeine said. The misunderstanding happened as the boy got out of the car to go to the toilet while his mother paid for the petrol.

She then drove off, leaving the child wandering around the petrol station. The police were alerted and eventually some Dutch people were able to help him explain what had happened, the paper said.

After a two hour search the boy and his mother were reunited