Five-year-old boy detained by police trying to ride toy tractor to petrol station

'Young farmer' picked up at 9pm by concerned officers on routine traffic patrol

Bavarian police announced the 'story to smile about' in a post on their Facebook page (Polizei Oberbayern Nord)

A five-year-old boy has been detained by police after he was found pedalling his toy tractor towards a petrol station late at night.

When subjected to a routine traffic check by concerned officers in the town of Ingolstadt, Germany, the child simply explained: "Petrol station. Oil run out!"

The "young farmer" was eventually returned home to his mother, North Upper Bavaria Police wrote in a "story to smile about" posted to their Facebook page.

He was picked up by officers making a routine traffic patrol at around 9pm, who made sure to give both driver and vehicle a thorough examination.

The runaway was then returned home to his mother, who had still not noticed her son had gone missing. He apparently clambered out of a window while her back was turned.

One comment on the police's Facebook page read: "And? Was the oil successfully topped up?" The citizen went on to express concern that the engine may be frozen up.

The police replied: "All good! Running like it's freshly oiled".

Another wrote "You are awesome!", to which the police replied: "We'll pass that on! Thanks a lot!"

A third member of the public posted: "Good work. Great friends and helpers. Good that nothing happened to the little man."

In Philadelphia last year, an eight-month-old received a severe dressing down by traffic police after running a red light in her hot pink pedal car.

"'Not being able to read' really isn't an excuse - but nice try," the police department wrote.