Five tourists have been arrested in Benidorm for the alleged group rape of a 20-year-old Norwegian woman after they met up via social media.

The sexual assault is alleged to have taken place in a holiday home in the resort and the suspects were traced through their profiles and photos.

The five men are all of French nationality. Four of them are aged 19, the fifth is 18.

The Civil Guard arrested the suspects on Tuesday morning. They had been on holiday in Benidorm and were due to fly home today. They are being held by Spanish police and are expected to appear in court on Thursday.

Police say the presence of a French officer in Benidorm on a summer policing exchange played a vital role in catching the alleged attackers.

The Civil Guard arrested the suspects on Tuesday morning. They had been on holiday in Benidorm and were due to fly home today (pictured, stock image of Benidorm)

The woman and her friend, also from Norway, had gone to a local health centre in the nearby town of L'Alfàs del Pi to report an alleged case of sexual assault and sexual abuse.

They were able to provide full descriptions and the first two were arrested at 4am and the other three half an hour later.

The women told the police that she and her friend made contact with the men through a social network and they agreed to meet up with them in Benidorm.

Later, they all left together for the holiday home the French teenagers were staying in although at one point during the night, one of the young Norwegian women left the house and left the other alone with the five men.

At a later time, there was the alleged group sexual assault and the agents are now trying to clarify whether the other girl, the one who left, was able to leave the home voluntarily or not.

In their complaint, the two women provided data and photographs of the profiles of the social networks of the five alleged suspects.

The 20-year-old Norwegian woman and her friend were both taken to the Villajoyosa hospital for a fuller medical examination.

'The investigation is still open in order to determine exactly the degree of participation of each of the five men and waiting for them to be made available to the Benidorm courthouse on Thursday,' said a police spokesman.

The five men are all denying sexual assault.