A British tourist had to be tied down with ropes after he sparked panic by jumping off a pier in Thailand.

The holidaymaker, 45, was seen floating in the ocean off the coast of the Bali Hai jetty in Pattaya, Thailand on January 7.

Police used a speedboat to reach him and one officer plunged into the water but the man was seen attacking them as he resisted being pulled to safety.

Footage shows how officers used ropes to drag him onto the vessel before he was tied down to stop him from struggling.

Security officer Thanongsak Chimluang said that he was helping tourists at Bali Hai Pier before he spotted a single boat was not docking. He went closer and found the man floating on the sea.

He said: 'I called for help and we boarded a boat to try and rescue the man. He refused any help from anyone and tried to stop us from getting near him.'

Witnesses told officials that the man had been standing on the dock and jumped into the sea after he saw a boat. Someone from the boat also jumped and tried to help him but the man went aggressive.

He swam away and hid behind the post before the rescue staff and police pulled him to safety.

It took over an hour for them to lasso him and bring him back to the pier while around a hundred bystanders were watching the incident unfold.

They later found that the unnamed British man was 45 years old. After the incident, he was taken to the Pattaya Police Station before being released.

Pattaya mayor Poramase Ngampiches thanked all staff for helping together and safely rescuing him. He said that the rescue showed Pattaya's standard in handling a crisis.

Poramase added: 'The city is a safe place for tourists and our priority is protecting them so their time here is happy.'