Boy, 4, steals great-grandfather's car on mission to buy sweets

Children will often do anything for sweets, but one American boy has taken his desire for confectionery to the extreme.

Jenna Swenson’s four-year-old son Sebastian stole his great-grandfather’s keys, jumped into his SUV and drove more than a mile during rush-hour to a petrol station in the hope of picking up something sweet.

Instead, he was greeted by police – much to his family’s relief.

Ms Swenson described the thoughts which went through her head during the escapade.

She told Fox News: “Panic, anxiety… A little of almost all the emotions going on…trying to calculate what happened.”

No one was hurt, but the car and some mailboxes were damaged in Blaine, Minnesota. The young driver also had a small bump with a tree, leaving behind a part of the car’s front bumper in a neighbour’s garden.

On Tuesday morning at around 8.30am, Sebastian climbed on to his great-grandfather Roy Becker’s walker, similar to a zimmer frame, to reach the car keys which were hanging high on a wall.

The four-year-old appeared to have a good working knowledge of how a Hyundai Santa Fe works, with Mr Walker commenting: “He watches everything people do and he’ll repeat it.”

Despite barely being able to see over the steering wheel, Sebastian reversed out of the driveway, drove through a number of winding residential streets before making a left turn onto the busy, four-lane University Avenue.

Witnesses reported they saw the SUV driving erratically at speeds up to 15mph before pulling into the car park of a petrol station.

“I’ve never seen a driver this young before operating a vehicle,” said Blaine police captain Mark Boerboom.

Mr Becker said: “It could’ve been very serious. He could’ve hit a car. He wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. We could be talking about a funeral.”

Sebastian’s shocked family will now keep their car keys locked away.