MADRID (AFP) - A paedophile who filmed himself abusing young girls was arrested in Spain after they identified him from his arm tattoo and hand seen in videos he shared online, Spanish police and Interpol said on Tuesday (Aug 7).

The 46-year-old Romanian allegedly abused five girls, aged between five and seven years, and shared the videos he made with his mobile phone, Spanish police said in a statement.

"The man who was detained is a dangerous sexual predator who is obsessed with minors who have not yet reached puberty," the statement added.

After police in Australia shared videos made by the man which it found online with Interpol, the international policing body identified Spain as the potential location where the abuse took place.

"Further analysis by Spain's central cybercrime unit pinpointed a neighbourhood near Madrid," Interpol said in a statement.

"Additional examination of the man's hands led investigators to believe he may be a mechanic, and the search was narrowed down to workshops in a specific area."

Spanish police set up a surveillance operation outside one of the workshops after a canvas sheet similar to one which appeared in the videos was spotted and one of the addresses.

A man fitting the suspect's profile was seen leaving the workshop and police followed him home.

"The next morning officers stopped the 46-year-old Romanian national on his way to work and identified him from a tattoo on his arm which was the same as seen in the videos," the Interpol statement said.

Spanish police said they found a "large amount of computer equipment" at the man's home.

He was arrested on charges of sexual abuse and the production and distribution of images of child sexual abuse.