The parents of a newborn baby in Germany left their precious bundle in the taxi as they alighted at their home after leaving the hospital where the baby was born.

Hamburg police said on Monday the couple took the baby’s one-year-old sibling out of the car, paid the driver and said goodbye – then realised someone was missing as the taxi pulled away.

The father ran after the taxi but was unable to draw the driver’s attention. Calls to the taxi service failed to locate the baby.

The driver, unaware of his sleeping stowaway, parked the taxi in an underground garage while he took his lunch break.

The driver then picked up a fare at the airport several kilometres away and the new passenger noticed the baby.

The driver swiftly called police and after a quick check-up from an ambulance crew, the baby and its grateful parents were reunited.

-AAP