Immigration police in The Hague mistakenly raided a safe home for single mothers and children on Thursday, assuming the premises to be used as a shelter by illegal aliens.

The police only discovered their error when they were banging on the doors of children's bedrooms. A few of the children got quite upset about the incident.

Adding insult to injury, the police made their mistake in the presence of Deputy Justice Minister Nebahat Albayrak who was accompanying the immigration police on a workfloor experience day. She managed to put the children at ease.

Shamefaced police officials later attributed the error to outdated information supplied by The Hague's population register, and apologised to the women and their children.