Two Californian toddlers have been found safe and well after their babysitter’s car was reportedly stolen while they were still inside.

The two boys - aged one and two - were in a Honda Accord taken from Cathedral City, near Palm Springs, last night.

Police said the car was taken after the babysitter left the children alone for a moment to run an errand.

The boys were identified as one-year-old Jayden Cortez and two-year-old Carlos Cortez after an Amber Alert was issued by Cathedral City Police.

Amber Alerts are used in the State of California as an means of notifying the public of emergency situations involving missing children.

The system was developed in 1996 after nine-year-old Amber Hagerman was abducted and brutally murdered near her home in Arlington, Texas.

The incident prompted law enforcement agencies and the Texas Association of Radio Managers to develop an emergency alert plan that uses the media to get help from the public in immediate search efforts.

The system has since been rolled out in communities across the US.

The car and the children were found this morning in Desert Hot Springs approximately 24km away from Cathedral City – around 175km east of Los Angeles.

Police have said they have no information on the suspect.