A nine-old-boy sparked a huge police search costing tens of thousands of pounds when he hid under his bed because he wanted the day of school, it has emerged.

Josh Dinning's family panicked and feared the worst when they went into his room at their Gateshead home to get him up for school to discover he was there.

His mother Michelle, 49, called the police at 9am on Tuesday morning and the force helicopter and dog section were called out to search from him.

Neighbours also joined in the hunt, checking bushes, outbuildings and gardens and handing out pictures of Josh at local shops.

But all the while the youngster was curled up underneath a cabin bed in a room in his room, despite the fact it had already been searched by police officers.

Josh had crawled through a tiny gap 1ft by 2ft gap in the bottom of the wooden bed frame and curled up where he hoped he wouldn't be seen.

After a search last three hours and 40 minutes, he was eventually found when police officers went back for a second look.