A small tricycle ferrying 26 pupils was stopped by traffic police in China on May 18, Chong Qing Morning Post said.

The children were crammed into a 'cage' mounted on the small vehicle found in Nanning in Guangxi province.

The tricycle had been modified and was covered with curtains. When police drew back the curtains, they were surprised to see dozens of children in it.

There was barely breathing space in the 'cage', the paper said.

The driver, surnamed Huang, said that the children were mostly "left-behind" kids, a term used to describe children in rural areas whose parents work in the cities.

He claimed the parents begged him to take their children to school as there was no other transport.

Huang charged them 30 yuan (S$6) a month.

Traffic police said that it was dangerous to load so many children on a tricycle, particularly during the rainy season.

They warned parents not to use such illegal transport for the sake of their children' safety.

It is not uncommon for creaky and overloaded school buses to be involved in accidents in China.