British man, 25, arrested for trying to snatch a toddler, 4, playing outside his grandmother's house in Lanzarote

Police have arrested a British tourist for allegedly trying to snatch a four-year-old child outside his grandmother’s home in Lanzarote.
The 25-year-old man was appearing in court today in a closed hearing over the incident, which allegedly took place in the tourist resort of Puerto del Carmen just after 6pm yesterday.
Relatives alerted by a neighbour were said to have rushed out as the child allegedly walked off with him and held him until police arrived.

Police have arrested a British man who allegedly tried to snatch a four-year-old child in the tourist resort of Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote (pictured)

The man was named last night locally as Stephen Raphael Manning. It is not known where in the UK he comes from.

A police source said he was stopped by the boy’s family in the grounds of a nearby tourist complex.
The source said: 'He wasn’t staying at the complex but at another hotel on the island. As far as we know he was on holiday on his own.
'He declined to be interviewed by police. Hopefully the courts will get more out of him. All lines of inquiry are being investigated.
'It appears the man under arrest has no previous convictions in Spain. We have yet to find out if he has a criminal record outside Spain.'

A police source said: 'The man under arrest is a tourist. We are talking to Interpol about him to find out what we can about his background.'
The boy’s family was visiting his grandmother - and had left him playing outside her home as they chatted inside.
His mother ran out to confront his alleged abductor after a neighbour allegedly knocked on the door to tell her a man was carrying her child away.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Lanzarote, which made the arrest, said: 'The man under arrest allegedly tried to take a youngster.
'We were alerted by the child’s relatives who managed to stop him. The youngster was not injured in any way.
'The suspect has been handed over to a court for further questioning.'
Puerto del Carmen is Lanzarote’s most popular holiday resort and receives hundreds of thousands of British and Irish visitors every year.
The family of the child at the centre of the drama is thought to be Spanish.
Local reports said he had been seen near the house a day before with two or three women.

DM