A Croydon man has been arrested after boastful messages about confronting a Muslim woman over the Brussels attacks appeared on Twitter.

A series of messages were posted on a Twitter account apparently owned by Londoner Matthew Doyle, 46, yesterday morning.

The first read: "I confronted a Muslim woman yesterday in Croydon. I asked her to explain Brussels. She said 'Nothing to do with me'. A mealy mouthed reply."

A series of further tweets on the account read: “Who cares if I insulted some towelhead ?? Really.”

“Thanks all you tweeters for proving I can still do PR. I really was thinking about throwing the towel (head) in!”

The controversial post was later deleted but not before it went viral and was widely mocked on Twitter, with many people parodying it.

Enam Haque wrote: "I confronted a ferret and asked him to explain Donald Trump's hair. He said 'nothing to do with me'. A mealy mouthed response."

While Mick McAvoy wrote: "Confronted a ginger person yesterday. Asked him to explain Ed Sheeran. Said 'Nothing to do with me' #Mealymouthed"

Joe Heenan wrote: "I confronted my 5 yr old son yesterday. I asked him to explain the mortgage rates. He said 'I dunno, I like Batman'. A mealy mouthed reply."

Police said a man, 46, had been arrested on suspicion of inciting racial hatred on social media.

"He was arrested tonight at an address in Croydon and remains in custody at a south London police station," said a spokesman.

Three suicide bombers killed at least 31 people in explosions at an airport and Metro station in Brussels on Tuesday morning.

The Islamic State group, also known as Daesh, has claimed responsibility for the attacks.