A 30-year-old hotel employee has been arrested on suspicion of stealing from hotel rooms and attacking police officers who tried to arrest him.

The man appeared before Paphos district court on Saturday, which remanded him for four days.

Deputy police operations chief Michalis Nicolaou said there had been a spat of break-ins at a specific hotel by the coast. Many of the rooms were stolen from, raising suspicions that the thief may be from the hotel staff.

Officers began questioning employees, and during investigations, the 30-year-old was found to have a pending fine, for which he was arrested for.

The man resisted arrest, attacking officers and ripping a policeman’s shirt in the process.

His backpack and vehicle were searched, and three room keys were found.

Officers then searched his home where they found another four hotel room keys, along with a safe box that belonged to the hotel.

It contained jewellery, and some cannabis amounting to 2.5grams including a small amount found in his car.

Investigations continue.