A Moroccan immigrant sparked panic on a packed Spanish high-speed train after threatening to detonate a bomb he claimed to be carrying.

Armed police arrested him at gunpoint at a railway station in the Catalan city of Girona after evacuating the area before the AVE train pulled in.

Police chief Xavier Domenech said the alarm was sounded by passengers on board the train from Barcelona to Girona who phoned 999 to say an Arab-looking man was shouting in French and Arabic he was carrying a bomb.

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Moroccan migrant being led away by officers having been arrested in Catalan city of Girona

The man appeared calm as he waited by the doors with what he said was a bomb in his hands

Dramatic video footage taken by a traveller showed the poncho-wearing mop-haired 30-year-old pinned to the ground and handcuffed as he stepped off the train when it reached Girona

Dramatic video footage taken by a traveller showed the poncho-wearing mop-haired 30-year-old pinned to the ground and handcuffed as he stepped off the train when it reached Girona.

He appeared to be calm and was waiting by the doors when it pulled in as other passengers stood around him - and seemed to offer no resistance as he was surrounded by police.

One officer could be overheard asking a passenger on the platform as the arrest was made: 'Did he have a bag or not?'

The drama occurred around 6.20pm local time on Thursday on a high-speed AVE train which had left Barcelona's Sants station 40 minutes earlier.

Police confirmed afterwards the suspect, who spoke in a foreign accent and told police he was Moroccan although he wasn't carrying any ID, was not armed or carrying a bomb.

The station was put on lock down temporarily before as the man, pictured, was taken away

A number of officers surrounded the suspect and pinned him to the ground in the station

The carriage he was travelling in was also given the all-clear to continue in service after an inspection with sniffer dogs.

The mystery man at the centre of the scare, who reportedly gave police a name which has not appeared on any of their databases, remained in custody today/yesterday (FRI) after being held on a public order offence.

He was expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation before a decision on his future. His identity had yet to be confirmed early this morning/yesterday morning (FRI).

Police officers talking at Girona train station

The regional Mossos d'Esquadra police force confirmed the scare in a Tweet saying: 'False alarm over a supposed bomb on a train between Barcelona and Girona.

'A man who threatened to detonate it has been arrested in Girona.'

Last month it emerged Islamic State fanatics had issued a 'direct threat' to popular Spanish tourist resorts where millions of Britons will holiday this summer.

Government documents have pointed to the terror group publishing in Spanish in an attempt to increase its influence on radicals living in Spain.

The number of British tourists visiting Spain soared from a low of 12.5 million in 2010 to a record high of 17.8 million in 2016.

Many tourists have chosen Spain this year as a safer option to places like Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia.

There is no suggestion at this stage the man arrested over yesterday's/Thursday's false alarm had any links to Islamic terror groups.