But police have found no evidence that arrested man was stalking children

Claims he found footage of children on suspect's phone before handing him into police

Citizen's arrest: British holidaymaker James Down with his two-year-old daughter Fia-Leigh in the pool at the Anastasia Beach Complex in Cyprus

A suspect arrested over an alleged child-kidnap attempt at a hotel packed with British families had footage of their children on his mobile phone, it was claimed today.

Officers were called to investigate allegations that traffickers tried to lure young children into getaway cars at the Anastasia Beach Complex in Cyprus on Tuesday.

Witnesses claimed the gang had been filming the youngsters and swimming with them in the pool for about a week while pretending to be hotel employees.

Tour operator Thomas Cook has since moved 16 families to another hotel and helped two others fly back to the UK after panic spread through the resort.

The Foreign Office described it as a 'concerning incident' and said it had provided consular assistance to a British family.

Father-of-two James Down today told MailOnline how he apprehended the suspect after spotting him lurking around the resort and talking to children.

He claimed to have found footage of children on the man's phone before handing him over to police.

The wind turbine engineer, who was holidaying with his wife, Ashleigh, 29, and two daughters - two-year-old Fia-Leigh and eight-month-old Mila-Jo - said: 'He'd been on the beach talking to some children and then we saw him by the pool.

'At one point, he asked me for cigarette. A man called Bill and another from Northern Ireland then came over to me as we noticed he'd slipped round the corner.

'At which point, we saw him kneeling down with a cigarette in his mouth talking to a child. I got him by the scruff of the neck and took him to the hotel reception and asked him what he was doing.

'Upon confiscating his phone, it was evident that he had been photographing and videoing children around the entertainment stage. It was mainly just children.

'There were rumours he had also been asking children up to his room. I was absolutely livid.'

The former soldier said a woman he believed to be an accomplice walked into the hotel shortly afterwards to try to speak to the suspect, but left when she saw the commotion.

The 30-year-old, from Newcastle, added: 'We shouted at her and she started running, so I ran after her and grabbed her.

'As I was running up the street, I saw a pick-up truck which had its engine running and a saloon car. Some of our group tried to run after the vehicles, but they drove off. I think they were traffickers.'

Panic: A gang apparently disguised as waiters were allegedly caught trying to abduct British children at the Anastasia Beach Complex in Cyprus (above)

He said the two suspects were handed over to police as furious parents gathered in the foyer demanding answers.

'Everyone was panicked. One of the police officers pulled a gun out on the crowd as a warning to stay back,' he added. 'From what we thought was going to be a lovely first family holiday has been absolutely shattered by this event.'

Mr Down demanded Thomas Cook to move him to a different hotel that night and he flew back to the UK last night.

Guests believe the gang of around ten men had been scoping out the hotel for the last week while disguised as waiters.

Father-of-two Greg Letford, who was part of a wedding party from Dundee, said: 'Some of them were wearing staff outfits so they could blend in more easily. It was really scary.'

He said the alleged traffickers targeted the victims on Tuesday night.

He told The Daily Record's James Moncur: 'This Romanian couple were leading two young children towards a waiting car, another person had a third child up against a wall ready to go, too.

'One of the men got away and we heard the getaway car crashed a short distance away too.

Upon confiscating his phone, it was evident that he (the suspect) had been photographing and videoing children around the entertainment stage. It was mainly just children Father-of-two James Down

'Someone spotted what they were up to and stopped them. If he hadn't been there, those kids would have gone. When the police turned up, they took the man and woman into an office in the hotel.

'The police got them into a van through a window for their protection. One of the hotel staff later told us they were Romanian and that one of them used to work at the hotel.'

A Scottish grandmother, who did not want to be named, has also spoken of her anguish at her family's involvement in the alleged child kidnap attempt.

She fears for the safety of her two grandchildren aged three years and 10 months and has accused the local police of a cover-up over what she believes is an well-organised criminal operation.

Speaking from her home in Dundee about what she had heard, she said: 'There was another attempt three weeks ago but that one was foiled and the guy is in custody. Apparently it's a Romanian crime gang and it's been going on for some time.'

Another holidaymaker, who wasn't named, said: 'Just thinking of what might have happened to those children makes your stomach flip.'

A police spokesman said a 19-year-old man had been questioned after holidaymakers reported seeing him use his mobile phone to film young children.

'Makes your stomach flip': British holidaymakers claimed the suspected gang had been filming the children and swimming with them in the pool for about a week while pretending to be hotel employees

Officers checked his phone and found footage of an adult dance band that was performing at the hotel, the force said.

Police deputy spokeswoman Nikoletta Tyrimou told the Cyprus Mail: 'We questioned the suspect, went through his phone and also searched his home.

'Nothing we found suggests that he is part of a child-abducting gang or that he was stalking children.

'He has since been released while police take statements from all those present at the scene.'

Officers maintained a high presence at the hotel yesterday as they investigated the allegations.

Thomas Cook, which runs the hotel, said it was 'working closely' with local authorities over the alleged incident.

Just thinking of what might have happened to those children makes your stomach flip Hotel guest

A Thomas Cook spokeswoman said: 'The safety and welfare of our customers is always our first priority and upon hearing about the alleged incident, we immediately deployed our experienced resort team to the property to provide those customers in residence with individual support.

'On request, we assisted 16 customer bookings who wished to move to an alternative hotel and two families who travelled back to the UK early.

'Although there are conflicting reports as to what exactly occurred at the property, we would like to reassure all customers that we take all allegations incredibly seriously and we are continuing to work closely with our customers in resort and the local authorities.

'Any customers with concerns about future holidays at this hotel are asked to contact us directly so that we can deal with them personally and directly.'

A spokesman for the British Foreign Office said: 'Our consular officers provided advice and support to the family involved following this concerning incident.

'This is now a matter for the local police who are investigating'.

Hotel operator Tsokkos said the child abduction claims were 'completely unjustifiable'.

The firm said in a statement: 'The 19-year-old man involved is not an employee of the hotel and is not a known person to either the management or staff.