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At least 15 people have been injured after a car ploughed into a parade crowd in Germany.

The vehicle, a silver Mercedes, collided with them at the Rose Monday parade in the town of Volkmarsen in central Germany.

Police have since confirmed the 29-year-old German man deliberately rammed into the crowd, and is now under arrest.

Eyewitnesses told German media that the driver appeared to target children.

One witness said the car accelerated for 30 metres through the procession until it stopped, after crashing through a barrier.

Another report said the vehicle hit the crowd “at full throttle”.

Dozens of cops and ambulances have been pictured at the scene, with a police helicopter also hovering above.

Police have not yet confirmed if they are treating the incident as terror-related, but it is not thought to be "politically motivated".

North Hesse Police said in a statement: "We know that there is a great desire for comprehensive information.

"However, we urge everyone who has pictures or videos from #Volkmarsen: hold back on speculation; do not distribute any of these recordings.

"An information portal will be set up."

(Image: @metesohtaoglu/Twitter)

Today is a popular day for carnival celebrations across Germany.

All parades in the Hessen region have since been cancelled as a precaution.

Volkmarsen lies around 175 miles from Berlin, the capital, and has around 6,800 inhabitants.

(Image: Twitter)

Around 1,500 people were expected to attend the Monday procession.

The Mayor of Volkmarsen , Hartmut Linnekugel, and district administrator Dr. Reinhard Kubat, are currently at the scene.

It comes less than a week after a gunman shot 11 people dead in a far-right racist terror attack in the town of Hanau.

Investigators say all the shisha bar victims were of immigrant origin – some were German nationals, while Turkey says at least five had Turkish citizenship.

(Image: hessenschau.de)

Several were reported to be ethnic Kurds. The dead also included one person each from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria and Romania.

Prosecutors say the suspected gunman, now dead, was "deeply racist".

Earlier today, commentary on racism featured prominently among carnival floats in western German cities.

In Cologne, one float depicted a weeping jester holding a heart with the slogan “our heart beats for Hanau.”