Police in Cyprus are "covering up" allegations that a gang attempted to abduct three British children at a popular holiday resort, it has been claimed.
According to a relative of a Scottish tourist who saw the incident, investigators are "acting like nothing happened" at the Anastasia Beach Hotel on Tuesday.
He told media holidaymakers were "up in arms" over the police response, as officers have insisted on social media that no evidence of a failed kidnapping has been found.
The relative, who does not wish to be named, claimed one of the men involved in the abduction attempt had video clips on his phone of children playing in the hotel's pool - and had worn a staff uniform to avoid detection.
Describing the incident, he added: "A waiter who had been in the pool area with the children walked with two young boys out the front door.
"An Irish guy at the bar spotted this and thought something wasn't right, so he followed them out the door. A pick-up truck pulled up and (the waiter) tried to bungle the kids in.
"The Irish guy punched the waiter to the floor, and told the kids to run back into the hotel. Members of staff came from the hotel and detained the guy.
"Basically, the police in the hotel are trying to cover it up and act like nothing's happened."
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has described the incident at the complex as "concerning", and confirmed that assistance had been provided to a British family.
According to police in Cyprus, the only person questioned after the incident was a 19-year-old man, who was suspected of filming underage children.
Officers said they had searched through his mobile phone and his home, but concluded he had only taken photographs of adults involved in a dance performance at the hotel.
The owners of the Anastasia Beach Hotel, which is regularly used by British tour operators including Thomas Cook, agreed with the police version of events.
A director of Tsokkos, the company which runs the hotel, told Sky News the attempted abduction claims were "exaggerated", adding: "This is untrue. Nobody tried to take the kids away."
Sky News understands around 50 to 60 tourists, mainly from the UK, have left the hotel early and are now staying at a five-star hotel in Paphos - a three-hour drive from the complex in Protaras.
It is also believed that several tourists asked to get flights home immediately after the incident.
