An eight-year-old drove himself to McDonald's to get a cheeseburger.

A desperate craving for a cheeseburger has prompted an eight-year-old boy in the US to partake in a quick learn-to-drive lesson on YouTube, before taking his little sister for a spin in his dad’s van to the nearest McDonald’s outlet.

The young boy, from Ohio, successfully navigated his way to the restaurant passing through a number of intersections and level railway crossings without mishap so he and his four-year-old sister could appease their urge for a burger.

East Palestine, Ohio police officer Jacob Koehler has told local radio in Cleveland witnesses said the boy appeared to obey road rules during the estimated 2.4km journey.

“He didn’t hit a single thing on the way there. It was unreal.”

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Koehler told the Weirton Daily Times that the staff at McDonald’s thought they were being pranked when the boy pulled up to the drive-through window.

“The workers thought that the parents were in the back, which they obviously weren’t,” he told the newspaper.

The youngster had apparently stolen his father’s keys while he was napping and taken off with money from his piggy bank.

“I think there is a good teaching point here. With the way technology is kids will learn how to do anything and everything. This kid learned how to drive on YouTube. He probably looked it up for five minutes and then said it was time to go,” Koehler said.

Police were called and the children were taken by their grandparents to the local police station, where their shocked parents later came to pick them up.

No charges were laid on the parents, who said they had been playing with their children (who had eaten three meals that day) before they became tired.

As for the children? Well, they got to eat cheeseburgers – and nuggets and fries – while they waited at the police station.

With AAP.