One of the vans used to carry out the murderous rampage at the heart of the city was rented by a man called Driss Oukabir, Spanish police said.

Oukabir rented the white Mercedes van in the town of Santa Perpetua de la Mogada, 16 miles north of Barcelona, it was claimed.

Scores of innocent victims were mowed down as a van ploughed down the Spanish city’s hugely popular Las Ramblas shortly after 5pm.

After careering off the road, the driver sped through crowds of tourists for up to 200metres, sending pedestrians flying, before coming to a halt outside the the kosher Maccabi restaurant.

At least 13 people were killed.

It was not clear if Oukabir was driving the vehicle or in any way involved in the attack.

Spanish reports claimed that a man identifying himself as Driss Oukabir went to his local police station in the town of Ripoll, almost 70 miles north of Barcelona, and reported that his documentation had been stolen.

The mayor of Ripoll said that the man claimed to have been in Ripoll at the time of the attack and went to the local police station as soon as he saw his images in the media.

The Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan police force, said they were looking into the report and not confirm or deny it.