The man has already admitted the rape and attempted murder of Cheryl Maddison in May 2008 and a beach sex attack on another British woman in August last year, detectives say.

The 30-year-old suspect, a waiter originally from Morocco, was set to be questioned today about a string of other rapes in party resort Magaluf.

Earlier this month a holidaymaker was punched from behind and raped as she lay semi-conscious on the ground.

She was the sixth woman in the last three years to have been raped at the resort in similar circumstances.

Tricked

The suspect was arrested on Friday near his rented home in Magaluf after months of undercover police surveillance. He has not been named.

He is expected to be accused of attempted murder and two rapes after being handed over to an investigating judge for further questioning on Monday.

A spokesman for the local Civil Guard said in a statement: "A man is in custody on suspicion of two rapes and an attempted murder.

"The suspect brutally attacked a young British woman in Magaluf and tried to kill her in May 2008.

"He also raped a British tourist in August 2010 in the same resort who he had tricked into accompanying him to the beach.

"He denied his involvement in the attacks on the two British women during initial police questioning but ended up breaking down and confessing in detail to both.

"Our investigations are continuing because we believe the suspect is involved in other sex attacks.


"His arrest followed a lengthy undercover operation which involved officers posing as tourists.

"The operation began after we linked the attacks on the two British women to the same man through DNA analysis and concluded he could also be responsible for other attacks in the area."

Cheryl Maddison, 21 when she was raped, waived her right to anonymity to recount how she played dead to save her life.

She was attacked just six days after moving to Magaluf from her home town of Houghton Le Spring, Co Durham, to start work as a barmaid.

Her attacker pounced on her as she opened the door to her rented flat, forced her inside and punched and stabbed her before raping her on her bed.

She said at the time: "I was convinced I was going to die — he was so violent and angry I never thought I'd get out alive.

"I was fighting back, scratching his face, and calling for help. But he pressed his thumbs on my windpipe until I passed out.

"When I woke up I was on the floor. I stood up and my feet were slipping and I looked down and it was blood.


"That is when I realised he had stabbed me in the chest. The police think he took the knife from the kitchen in my apartment.

"He kept on punching me in the back. I was crying and shouting and making quite a lot of noise and that is when he stabbed me in the neck.

"That's when I realised I had to play dead. If I hadn't done that he would have kept going until I was dead."

Magaluf is the number one destination for British package tour holidaymakers.

Around 95 per cent of the estimated one million tourists who flock to the resort every year are British.