The man wanted for attacks on two women who were cycling alone in Utrecht has been arrested in Maastricht.

Police say the man, named by Dutch media as Michael van H, was picked up shortly before 11 pm near the railway station.

They had issued his photograph on Thursday evening and a picture of his car a day later. That car was found abandoned in Roermond.

A police spokesman told broadcaster NOS that “digital resources” had been used to find out if the man had left evidence behind which would show where he was. That trail led to Maastricht where he was arrested.

Police began their hunt for the man on Monday evening after he knocked a 19-year-old woman off her bike in the east of the city. She managed to escape. There had also been a similar incident in Utrecht several days before.

Dutch media reported on Friday that the man had an earlier conviction for a violent rape in Dordrecht and had served three years in jail.