Lithuanian Gražina Leščinskiene's son was taken into care early this year

Claimed they were needed to combat 'world's highest rate of inbreeding'

A Lithuanian talk show has accused Norway of stealing their children in an attempt to tackle 'the highest rate of inbreeding in the world'.

The episode of An Hour with Ruta, which aired on independent TV channel LNK last week, claimed that foreign children were being seized and fostered with Norwegian parents to strengthen the Nordic country's 'genetic material.'

An introduction to the chat show argued that Norway's Child Protection Service (Barnevernet) argued that it was deliberately targeting Lithuanian children which were seen as a 'sought-after commodity'.

Lithuanian talk show An Hour with Ruta (pictured) has accused Norway of stealing their children in an attempt to tackle 'the highest rate of inbreeding in the world'

It stated that 'In Norway, Lithuanian children are taken away from their parents.'

An 'expert' on the controversial service told show host Rūta Mikelkevičiūte that the country needed fresh blood to combat its rates of inbreeding which she said had led to high rates of babies being born with birth defects.

Neringa Ozolina, a Lithuanian based in Ålesund, said: 'The birth rate is the lowest in Norway,' according to a report by The Local.

Earlier this year, Lithuania's Gražina Leščinskiene (pictured) hit local headlines after her son Gabrieliaus was taken into care by Norway's Child Protection Service

'Inbreeding in Norway is the greatest in the world, and the same is true of the percentage of children born with Down syndrome and other birth defects.'

Earlier this year, Lithuania's Gražina Leščinskiene hit local headlines after her son Gabrieliaus was taken into care by Norway's Child Protection Service.

She claimed he had been taken from her after displaying what was deemed to be 'sexualised behaviour', which included frequent visits to the toilet and sniffing his hands.

Dag Malmer Halvorsen, Norwegian Ambassador to Lithuania was forced to hire a Lithuanian public relations form to try and counteract the 'misconceptions' about Norway's child protection regime

She is still fighting to have her son returned to her.

Norway's Ambassador to Lithuania Dag Halvorsen admitted the issue of children being taken into care from foreign parents living in the Nordic country was a major concern in Lithuania.

The problem is so widespread that Mr Halvorsen was forced to hire a Lithuanian public relations firm to try and counteract the 'misconceptions' about Norway's child protection regime.

'It is said that there is a history of inbreeding in Norway and that there is a high incidence of Down syndrome among Norwegian children,' he told Norway's NRK channel.

'They argue therefore that it is important for Norwegian authorities to obtain fresh, foreign children, such as Lithuanian ones, to strengthen the genetic material.'

Earlier this year Czech President Miloš Zeman accused the services of acting 'like the Nazis' by not allowing a Czech mother of the two seized boys to talk to them in Czech.