Reports have emerged today of the alarming events surrounding an intercepted child abduction in a popular family holiday resort on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
According to various reports, up to 50 Britons have now been moved from the Thomas Cook owned Anastasia Beach complex, near the Cypriot region of Protaras. They have relocated away from the scene of the alleged crime, which involved a Romanian couple attempting to lure children away into a car; while two families were apparently left so distressed that they have flown back to the UK.
It is believed that a gang of child traffickers, all posing as staff at the hotel, were involved in the attempted kidnap of three children. However, their efforts were thankfully intercepted by a group of tourists who apprehended the suspects - believed to be Romanian - as they tried to persuade three children all aged under 10, into their getaway cars.
The Cyprus resort is described by Thomas Cook as being 'a perfect family choice'.
Witness reports suggest that the perpetrators had been filming and swimming with the children in the run-up to the incident, all the while pretending they were waiters at the resort.
Father of two, Greg Letford, from Dundee in Scotland, told The Daily Record:
'This Romanian couple were leading the two young children towards a waiting car, another person had a third child up against a wall ready to go, too.
'Someone spotted what they were up to and stopped them.
'One of the men got away and we heard the getaway car crashed a short distance away, too.'
The Foreign Office said it is now providing consular assistance to a British family who are thought to have been directly involved in the averted incident, while holiday provider Thomas Cook has said that it is taking the events 'incredibly seriously'.
A spokeswoman for the tour operator said:
'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 customers in residence with individual support.'
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