Panic as three children escape nursery and make a break for Africa

Three nursery schoolchildren caused panic when they escaped from lessons and tried to fly to Africa, police said on Thursday.

The three children, aged five and six, waited until their teacher wasn't looking before escaping from their nursery building in Nuremberg, Germany. Police were alerted as soon as the their absence was noticed and a search was launched involving the fire brigade and a police helicopter.

The errant youngsters were found safe two hours later, and told police they had intended to catch a plane to Africa, but were making their way to a local toyshop first.

German police said in a statement: "The rogue youngsters aged five and six took advantage of an unobserved moment to break out of their class."