A nine-year-old boy vanished for almost ten hours after failing to take his regular taxi home from school.

Anthony Deeks, from Worthing, was eventually spotted at Paddington station in London early today.

He was due to be collected by his mother this morning and taken back home.

Anthony usually travels by cab from Glebe Middle School in Southwick to his home in Worthing at the end of the school day.

The youngster disappeared after school yesterday at about 3.10pm. Police were alerted when he did not arrive home.

Officers started an immediate search of the area and spoke to Anthony's family and friends in a bid to track him down.

Anthony has a good knowledge of the railway system and police concentrated their efforts there, eventually spotting him at Paddington.

A police spokesman said: "We are still waiting to find out exactly what happened but we are pleased Anthony is home safe and well."