Two tigers have escaped from their enclosure at a big cat sanctuary and are prowling around the park in the northern Dutch province of Friesland.

Police spokeswoman Nathalie Schubart said officers and a vet have the animals in sight and are trying to tranquillise them as the sanctuary's outer fence is not fully secure.

She said the animals have to be caught because of fears they could escape through the outer fence, "which would be dangerous for the people nearby".

Police have warned residents in the small village of Olderberkoop, 87 miles north east of Amsterdam, about the tigers.

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