Eastern Cape police are hunting for a contrite car thief who drove off with two young children but later safely dropped off his “passengers” with R20 each so they could get to school.

The drama unfolded early on Tuesday when a mother travelling with her son‚ 10‚ and daughter‚ 6‚ collided with a pedestrian on the R61 between Mthatha and Ngcobo in the Eastern Cape.

Being a responsible motorist‚ the mother stopped to help the teenage pedestrian at the roadside. While she was busy‚ an unknown man appeared‚ jumped into her Hyundai hatchback and sped off at about 7.30am.

Police spokesman Captain Dineo Koena told SowetanLIVE that both children were found safe at Chris Hani Park.

“Yes‚ the kids were found and the car was recovered today. The kids were found at Chris Hani Park. The car was recovered through a tracker‚” said Koena. The vehicle was found abandoned at Tsolo.

The children told police that the man had given each of them R20‚ said they must go to school and dropped them off before vanishing with their mother’s car.

Koena said police were still searching for the man.