Spanish police have arrested a fugitive dubbed the “Master of Escapes” after he allegedly broke out of prison four times in Italy and Belgium.

The man was arrested in Tarragona, northeastern Spain, on Wednesday following a European arrest warrant issued by Italian authorities.

His most recent escape came in December from a maximum-security prison in Italy, where he reportedly sawed through window bars and used knotted bedsheets to lower himself from the facility.

He had previously escaped from prisons in Terni and Parma in Italy, as well as a Belgian prison, where he allegedly formed a human pyramid with other inmates to scale the walls.

Police described the fugitive as dangerous but did not disclose his identity or the offences for which he was imprisoned.

Investigators tracked him to a neighbourhood in Tarragona, where he had been living. He reportedly resisted arrest, while people accompanying him attempted to prevent officers from taking him into custody.

One person allegedly injured two police officers during the confrontation.

Authorities said the fugitive was carrying false identification documents and two €500 notes suspected to be counterfeit.

A Spanish judge has ordered him to remain in custody without bail pending extradition proceedings to Italy.

Police said his escape methods appeared to be “something from a movie,” but added that reality can sometimes surpass fiction.