Runaway 13-year-old boy drives across Europe Published duration 12 January 2013

A 13-year-old runaway boy who took his father's car and drove nearly 1,000km (620 miles) across Europe is being re-united with his family.

The boy fled after a reported row with his parents in Italy.

Having driven from Italy into Austria, he proceeded to Germany where he was stopped by police after his family had alerted Interpol.

The boy, who had been adopted two years ago, was reportedly heading to his original home country, Poland.

The teenager lives in the northern Italian town of Montebelluna.

After an argument with his adoptive mother - allegedly over a mobile phone payment - the boy, a keen go-cart racer, left on Thursday afternoon.

And he seems to have been completely confident at the wheel of his father's high-powered Mercedes car.

image caption The boy was said to be comfortable behind the wheel

His parents say he was probably heading for Poland - he was said to be missing his sister who lives there and to have been in touch with her via the internet, according to Italian media.

The car was eventually tracked and stopped near Moisburg, in northern Germany.

Police said it was "incredible" that the boy-driver had managed to cross two international borders and filled up with petrol twice without anyone en route raising the alarm.