Police say an eight-year-old boy took his mum’s car and went for a nighttime joyride on a highway in western Germany.

Soest police said the boy’s mother called them on Wednesday after she noticed that both her son and her VW Golf had disappeared.

Mother and police eventually found the boy at a highway service area where he had parked the car, turned on the hazard lights and put up the warning triangle.

„Ich wollte nur ein bisschen Autofahren.“ sagte in der Nacht ein 8-Jähriger zu unseren Kollegen. Er war von zuhause mit…

Posted by Polizei NRW Soest on Wednesday, August 21, 2019

According to police, the boy said he started feeling “uncomfortable” once he hit 140kph (87mph) on the highway.

The boy’s mother said her son regularly drives go-carts and bumper cars and has in the past practised driving a real car on private property.

The legal age for driving in Germany is 18.