Two men have been arrested for allegedly trying to drag a four-year-old girl into the sea.

According to local newspaper Todo Alicante, one of the men grabbed the child and began carrying her into the water at Alicante’s Postiguet beach before being arrested by police.

The alarming incident unfolded at around 5.15pm on Monday as the Russian woman was spending the afternoon with her two daughters, aged four and 12, and a friend at the popular city beach.

Two Moroccan men in their 30s had reportedly been lingering near the family for some time.

Witnesses told investigators that one of the men suddenly picked up the four-year-old girl and began walking into the water with her, where a second man was waiting a short distance offshore.

The child’s mother immediately realised what was happening and ran into the sea, where she struggled with the suspect before managing to pull her daughter back to safety.

Rather than returning to the beach, the two men allegedly remained in the water and attempted to move away from the scene.

The mother alerted Local Police officers patrolling the beach, who waited for the pair to come ashore before arresting them.

During the intervention, a second woman, a Serbian national, approached officers and claimed she recognised the suspects.

She alleged the pair had followed her while she was swimming just minutes earlier and that one of the men had attempted to sexually assault her.

Her account has been added to the ongoing police investigation.

The two suspects were handed over to the Policia Nacional, who are leading the inquiry.

The incident is the latest to raise concerns over safety at Postiguet beach after three men were arrested over separate alleged sexual assaults there in less than 72 hours just a few weeks ago.