13-year-old boy 'drove 500 miles through Europe'

A 13-year-old boy has reportedly driven his dad's car more than 500 miles through Europe.

The youngster is said to have borrowed his father's high-powered Mercedes vehicle to drive to meet his birth family in Poland, but he failed to reach his destination after getting stopped by German police on a motorway in Leipzig, east Germany.

The boy – who is an "expert" go-kart driver – set off for his hometown of Pederobba in northern Italy with €200.

An Italian police spokeswoman explained: "The boy has told his parents he is sorry and has recognised he was in the wrong."