True Love!

Real!

No love in the sun … Anna-Lena and Mika, with Anna-Bell at left, in a photograph taken by German police in Hanover. Photo: AFP

Kate Connolly in BerlinJanuary 7, 2009

IT IS a dream that has been shared by lovers across the centuries - eloping to exotic lands. But few would have been as bold and spontaneous as six-year-old Mika and his seven-year-old sweetheart, Anna-Lena, who, after mulling over their options in secret, packed their suitcases on New Year's Eve and set off from Germany to tie the knot under the heat of the African sun.

The children left their homes in Hanover at dawn next day while their parents slept and took along Anna-Lena's five-year-old sister, Anna-Bell, as a witness to the wedding.

Donning sunglasses, swimming armbands and dragging a pink Lilo and suitcases on wheels packed with summer clothes, cuddly toys and a few provisions, they boarded a tram to Hanover train station and got as far as the express train for the airport before a station guard alerted police.

Anna-Lena later told the German TV station RTL: "We wanted to get married and so we just thought, 'Let's go there'." Mika said: "We wanted to go for a bit of a stroll in the sun." Anna-Lena's mother, who has not been identified publicly, said she had known nothing of the plan, saying: "I'm still in a state of shock."

Asked why they had not let their parents know, the children said they thought they would not be gone for long.

Mika and Anna-Lena "are very much in love", said a police spokesman. The idea for the romantic trip began when Mika told the two girls about his recent holiday in Italy while their families celebrated New Year's Eve together. "From this, the children began to make plans for the future," the spokesman said. Two police officers managed to convince the lovers they would struggle to get to Africa without money or a plane ticket.

To allay their disappointment at the change of plan, Hanover officers gave the children a guided tour of the police headquarters, where they were particularly fascinated with the detention cells.

Guardian News & Media, Agence France-Presse