Thomas Cook moves clients after child-snatching scare at Cyprus hotel

Thomas Cook has moved around 50 British and Irish holidaymakers from a Cyprus hotel over fears for the safety of children.

It said 16 clients were moved from the Anastasia Beach Hotel in Protaras after an incident on Tuesday night in which a gang allegedly tried to snatch children from the hotel.

According to a report in the Daily Record, a couple were trying to lure three children under the age of 10 into a waiting car but were stopped when a suspicious holidaymaker intervened.

The alleged abductors were grabbed and taken to the hotel office where they were handed over to local police.

Concerned holidaymakers mounted safety patrols of the hotel grounds to protect their children.

Some guests claimed they had seen members of the gang hanging around the hotel on previous occasions during their holidays.

Holidaymakers praised Thomas Cook reps for the speedy and professional way they handled the situation and tried to calm fears.

The operator arranged for the families directly affected by the incident to fly back to the UK and agreed to move others who didn’t feel safe.

A Thomas Cook spokesperson said the company was taking the incident extremely seriously and had requested an increased and immediate security presence at the hotel.

"The safety and welfare of our customers is always our first priority and upon hearing about the incident, we immediately deployed our experienced resort team to the property to provide those customers in residence with individual support.

"Customers who did not wish to stay at the property were immediately moved to alternative hotels of a similar or higher standard.

"While incidents of this nature are extremely rare, we would like to reassure all customers that this is being taken incredibly seriously and we are continuing to work closely with the local authorities and the hotel as the investigation continues.

"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."

The incident was played down by the local police and the local press.

According to the Cyprus Mail, police said they arrested a 19-year-old man from Bulgaria who holidaymakers claim had been filming their children and was trying to abduct them.

But they said after going through his phone and searching his home, nothing suggested he was part of a child-abducting gang or that he was stalking children.