A British tourist has been arrested accused of attempting to drown a stranger within the sea at a Benidorm beach after which attacking a toddler.
The 44-year-old, who was staying at a hotel within the Costa Blanca resort, is reportedly being held in hospital pending a psychiatric evaluation following the horror incident.
He was detained on suspicion of attempted homicide, wounding and threats before being taken into custody.
The unnamed man is claimed to have gone berserk at Poniente Beach, Benidorm’s longest and largest beach positioned south-west of the old town.
He allegedly tried to drown a Norwegian 34-year-old woman who was swimming together with her boyfriend, grabbing her by the neck and forcing her head underwater before her partner managed to free her following a tussle with the Brit.
He’s then said to have grabbed a five-year-old Spanish boy by the neck who was along with his parents on a day trip and tried to suffocate him by forcing his face into the sand and holding him down.
Join for all of the most recent stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
The teenager’s mum got here to his aid with other sunbathers and a lifeguard restrained and held the British tourist before police arrived.
Local reports said he’s now under a 24/7 suicide watch.
He has now been admitted to Villajoyosa Hospital for medical reasons and is under police guard there pending a mental health evaluation.
Although local police employed by Benidorm Town Hall made the arrest, he was handed over to a different police force – the National Police – before being admitted to hospital.
Neither force has yet made any official comment in regards to the incident which happened on Tuesday afternoon.
MORE: British tourists falling unwell abroad cost UK £181,000,000 last 12 months
MORE: Killer who blamed baby’s murder on a fake kidnapper executed after 30 years on death row
MORE: Ex-police officer is in hiding after Grok falsely linked her to Henry Nowak’s arrest