A two-year-old toddler has been abducted from a child daycare centre in Delft, probably by its father.

The child's parents were grappling with severe relational problems, according to the police, and the father took the child with him on Thursday afternoon without the agreement of its mother. A court had assigned the sole guardianship of the child to her.

The man left the scene with the child in his car, which was later found abandoned. Police in the Dutch town have called witnesses to come forward.