An abducted Australian boy named Andrew Thompson has been found safe in Amsterdam.

Police in the Dutch capital have confirmed the arrest of the 6-year-old's mother, who had taken him to Europe after her divorce three years ago. Ken Thompson, the father, had been appointed the boy's guardian, but was unable to get in touch with him or the mother after their departure.

Following attempts to trace his son from Australia, Mr Thompson decided to come to Europe where he started a bicycle tour to draw attention to his cause, and to the plight of children abducted by divorced parents in general.

The mother was reported to police by a head teacher when she attempted to register her son at a school using an outdated Australian passport. The school teacher checked the name on the web and found the web page created by Ken Thompson to canvas support for the search after his missing son.

It is expected that father and son will be reunited in the Dutch capital in the course of Thursday.

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