A child brought a World War II-era bomb into a daycare centre in the German city of Darmstadt on Wednesday.

The daycare center was subsequently evacuated because of a bomb alert, a police spokeswoman said. The local bomb disposal unit then arrived and removed the explosive device.

According to a police report, the child found the unexploded incendiary during a walk through the woods, and then brought it along into the nursery.

The daycare workers soon noticed the odd object on a shelf and informed police, after which staff and children were evacuated from the building.

The bomb disposal unit scoured the site where the explosive was found and nearby areas for more war-era munitions, but found nothing, the police spokeswoman said.