Man wanted in UK for child sex crimes arrested in Thailand

A British man wanted by UK police for a string of paedophile offences has been arrested at a school in northeast Thailand, immigration officials said.

"He has been charged by British police authorities for indecent actions -- 12 accounts -- to children under 14-years-old," Pariwat Satchaphan, an immigration inspector in Nongkhai province, told AFP by telephone late Wednesday.

Pariwat said the 61-year-old man was arrested at a school on Tuesday, though he did not say whether he was employed as a teacher there.

"British police officials sent us a request to arrest him," he said.

The man will be transported to Bangkok to appear at a criminal court which will decide whether or not to extradite him back to Britain, Pariwat said.

A spokesman for the British embassy in Bangkok confirmed that a 61-year-old national had been arrested and that consular officials were providing assistance.

Nongkhai province is in Thailand's northeast on the border with Laos.

It boasts the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, a popular crossing point between the two countries for locals and foreigners.