GATESHEAD - A nine-year-old boy who sparked a huge police hunt on Monday (April 3) after vanishing was found hiding under his bed, British media reported.

Police mounted a river search and even scrambled a helicopter in their bid to locate Josh Dinning, from the town of Gateshead in Tyne and Wear, after his mother woke up to find him missing.

Josh was discovered three hours later in a drawer under his bed, according to the BBC.

He reportedly said he had climbed into the secret compartment to avoid going to school.

A Northumbria Police spokesman said it was reviewing why the hidden compartment was not checked during the search.

Josh's mother, Michelle Dinning, told the BBC that she was hoping her son was already at school when she could not locate him.

But the widow and mother of eight panicked when the school called up to say the boy had not arrived, and she subsequently alerted the police.

As word of the boy's disappearance spread, neighbours pitched in to help and distributed photos of Josh.

Ms Dinning eventually suggested to search her house one more time - and Josh was found when police officers lifted the bed.

Said Josh: "I could hear people looking for me and I thought I had better stay quiet because when they found me I would get shouted and bawled at so I just stayed where I was."