Two girls have been stabbed on their way to school in a small town in the south of Germany.

Both girls were seriously injured in the attack on Monday morning, a police spokesman said.

The attacker had a knife, according to the newspaper Bild.

The attack happened in Illerkirchberg, a town of around 5,000 people west of Munich.

A suspect had fled into a nearby building, Wolfgang Juergens, police spokesman in the nearby city of Ulm, told local broadcaster SWR.

People inside the building were taken into custody, he said.

He did not confirm how many people had been found or whether any were the alleged attacker.

Police are yet to say if they suspect a motive for the attack.