A car has been driven into the gates of Angela Merkel's Federal Chancellery building in Berlin, German police say.

A 54-year-old man was detained but the background to the incident was unclear.

The Volkswagen car had messages daubed in white on both sides. One called for an end to "globalisation politics" while another referred to "you damned killers of children and old people".

The incident came hours before Mrs Merkel held talks with regional leaders on extending Covid safety measures.

It is not known if she was in the building at the time. Germany's "lockdown light" is expected to be extended until 20 December and the restrictions have prompted protests from Covid deniers and far-right activists.

However, there were indications that Wednesday morning's low-speed crash was not related to the protests.

An interior ministry spokesman later confirmed German reports that the man detained had also driven into the gate in February 2014. On that occasion the car had different white slogans daubed on the side. One called for an end to climate change while another read simply: "Nicole, I love you."

Police said they were trying to establish whether the driver on Wednesday had a psychological condition or a particular motive. A government spokesperson said at no point was there any risk to the chancellor or anyone else.

(Lupni.com/BBC)