German police evacuated a nursery in the western city of Darmstadt after teachers found an unexploded bomb from the Second World War lying on a shelf among some toys.

"A child had found the stick-type incendiary bomb during a walk in the woods and brought it along to the kindergarten," said police spokeswoman Andrea Loeb.

Teachers called the police after they found the "strange object" on the shelf and quickly evacuated the building, Ms Loeb said, adding that a bomb disposal team safely removed the bomb.

The danger of unexploded Second World War aerial bombs lurking in the soil still haunts Germany more than seven decades after the war ended in 1945.

More than 2,000 tonnes of live bombs and munitions are found each year in Germany, even under buildings.