A drunk British tourist was savagely attacked by two locals who claimed they were annoyed that he catcalled one of their girlfriends in Thai 'Sin City' Pattaya.

Steven Elliot Lord, 35, visited a convenience store to buy a bag of ice for his beer but started arguing with two Thai men drinking alcohol at the front of the shop at 5:10 am on Sunday morning, September 3.

The 'heavily intoxicated' Brit reportedly began to pester them despite the shopkeeper's attempts to usher him away.

The locals finally lost their temper when the holidaymaker allegedly catcalled one of the men's girlfriend, prompting them to lunge at him and beat him brutally on the pavement.

Paramedics at the Sawang Boriboon Thammasat rescue team said they received a report about the injured tourist in the Bang Lamung District in the early hours of the morning.

They found Steven bleeding heavily, with a swollen face, a broken front tooth, and cuts to his eyebrows and head.

However, the rampaging Brit initially refused help and tried to attack the rescuers while screaming at them.

They managed to calm him and administered first aid before rushing him to a hospital.

Store owner Euaamporn Rattanamethakoson, 36, said: 'The British man came to buy ice, but I noticed he was very drunk.

'I saw him disturbing some men in front of my shop, but he wouldn't listen to me when I tried to tell him to go away.'

Police Colonel Thanapong Phothi, superintendent of the Pattaya Police Station, said a search was launched for the suspects who had fled the scene before officers could arrive.

They reviewed the store's CCTV footage and tracked down Apichai Prawe and Denchai Khanteetao, both 28, at a nearby rented room in the city.

The pair reportedly admitted to police that they had attacked Steven. They claimed they tried to make him leave, but he was 'too stubborn' and refused to listen to them. They added they lost their tempers when he catcalled Apichai's girlfriend.

Both were remanded in police custody to face legal charges.

Meanwhile, Steven was understood to be under close medical supervision due to his injuries, including intracranial bleeding.

The policeman added: 'The two attackers have confessed and they will be prosecuted. Being drunk is not illegal and does not justify the attack.

'We are now waiting to interview the victim to receive his account of the incident and get more evidence from him.'

Thailand's current military government has made efforts to clean up Pattaya after it was dubbed the 'sex capital' of the world and a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah.

However, the city's lucrative shadow economy based on sex, crime, drink and drugs has proved difficult to tame in the once-sleepy coastal city.

A large number of British ex-pats have also set up bars in the sun-drenched resort, which has become an attractive place for pensioners to retire.