Man held in connection with alleged attempted abduction of three-year-old girl in Lanzarote

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Police in London have arrested a man in connection with the alleged attempted abduction of a three-year-old girl in the Canary Islands.

The 62-year-old was arrested after pictures of a man accused of trying to kidnap the girl in a shopping centre in Costa Teguise, Lanzarote, were released.

The family of the three-year-old were on holiday in January last year when a man is alleged to have attempted to kidnap the girl in a shopping centre.

The father of the girl noticed she was missing and spotted his daughter being led around a corner into an alleyway by a man who was holding her by the hand.

He shouted and ran up to his daughter pulling her away from the man, who then left the scene.

The family were on a nearby beach a short time later and saw the same man, who spoke fluent English, sitting between some rocks and acting suspiciously.

The victim's father confronted the suspect, but he left before police arrived.

The family were able to take photographs of the man in an attempt to identify him before he left.

Detectives yesterday released the images in a bid to identify the man.

Following the arrest, investigating officer Detective Constable John Swallow said: "We arrested a man in the London area in connection with this incident earlier today.

"The investigation is ongoing and I want to thank the public for their continued help."