Immigration police raided a hostel for mothers and children in the Hague in the early hours of Thursday morning, in the mistaken belief it was being used by illegal immigrants, news agency ANP reports.

A number of officers forced the front door and banged on bedroom doors, sending several children into a panic.
Junior justice minister Nebahat Albayrak, who was with the police on a fact-finding mission, witnessed events and helped comfort the children, ANP said.
Police told ANP they made the mistake because they had used old information from the population registry.