A brother and sister from New York state have been rescued from a Jewish “cult”, after police found them in a small town 30 miles south of Mexico City.

Chaim Teller, 12, and his sister Yante Teller, 14, were taken from their home in Woodridge, New York, on December 8.

On Friday they were found in Mexico, after their mother reported them missing. She said she suspected they had been taken by her brother, who runs the ultra-Orthodox Lev Tahor group, founded by their father.

Its teachings reportedly include that women must be veiled from head to toe in black tunics.

The group is based in Guatemala, and the mother fled six weeks ago, taking her children with her.

Four members of the group were arrested and charged with the kidnapping of the two children.