A British holidaymaker has been arrested after allegedly taking a four-year-old boy from his mother and refusing to return him at an airport. Alvina Omisri Agba, 23, was arrested at Miami International Airport on Tuesday when police discovered her sitting on the floor with the child.

The boy's mother reportedly asked Agba to hand back her son, but the tourist from Luton, Bedfordshire, is said to have yelled: "No, this is my child."

It is believed that the child was in tears while he and his mother were queuing at the check-in desk at the Florida airport. Agba then purportedly offered to take the child to soothe him, to which the mother consented.

However, according to the Miami Herald, Agba walked off with the boy and when police officers located her, she allegedly had her arms and legs wrapped around the child, preventing him from escaping. This reportedly resulted in a tussle between Agba and the mother over the child in the airport.

Agba was eventually arrested after officers and airport staff managed to defuse the situation, the Mirror reports. It is understood that the child sustained deep scratches to his neck but was ultimately fit enough to board his flight with his mother.

Agba, from Luton, is facing charges of interfering with custody and battery, and is currently being held at the Turner Guilford Correctional Center on a $3,500 (£2,600) bond. Local media reports indicate that she was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.

Dayanis Ojeda, a check-in desk supervisor at the airport, remembered the chaos. Dayanis told Local 10 News: "Once [my colleague] took the boy to the counter, the lady went inside the counter and we called 911."

Agba is accused of crawling underneath the counter and demanding that staff hand over the little child, but three men stepped in and blocked her path. It's reported that the suspect then fled, but deputies were able to apprehend her and take her into custody.

Upon reading her rights, Agba allegedly told officers she was merely taking the child to a wall painted with a rainbow, hoping it would soothe him.

She also reportedly claimed she did not recall what occurred when the boy's mother came to retrieve her son from her, but stated she "only did it because God told her to do it."

It remains unclear whether Agba, the boy and his mother are acquainted.