An Irish tourist was beaten up by furious security guards after allegedly being caught on a dine and dash spree to celebrate St Patrick's Day in Thailand.

John Joseph Kilroy, 58, reportedly tried his luck and ate at restaurants in a street food market without paying in the notorious Sin City of Pattaya on Thursday evening March 17.

Unfortunately for him, two Thai guards noticed what he was doing and reportedly tried to walk away but the guards followed him until one of them punched him in the face.

The foreigner lost his balance upon being struck and hit his head onto the pavement gutter. He suffered a minor head injury and was treated at a hospital.

Police questioned the two guards from Tree Town market and both claimed that the Irish tourist had been eating before leaving without paying at the market.

They said: 'He did not pay for the bill. We asked him to leave and blocked him from entering the market but he pushed us on the chest.'

Rescue volunteers arrived at the scene and found tourists crowding over the elderly Irish man. They performed first aid on John who was heavily bleeding from the head injury before delivering him to the hospital for treatment.

Officers questioned several local street prostitutes and bar staff who witnessed the incident but none were willing to share information.

However, an Australian tourist who claimed to have seen what was happening said that the Irish man was attacked by two security guards after doing a dine and dash.

He said: 'The party who attacked the tourist were security guards from Tree Town Market. They first followed the Irish man before slapping him in the face.

'The Irish man tried walking away but they followed and continued arguing. The guards then punched him, causing him to fall on his back with a head injury.'

Pattaya police said they would check the CCTV as evidence on the ongoing investigation.

Speaking today, Police Colonel Kulchat Kulchai, superintendent of the Pattaya police, said: 'We hope that both sides will apologise to each other and settle the dispute. The initial investigation shows that both sides have done something wrong and there was a misunderstanding.'