A British tourist was knocked unconscious and covered in blood when he was attacked by dozens of Thai coyote dancers fighting over customers.

Jack Fitzmaurice, 28, was drinking with a girl when others became jealous at the strip club in sex resort Pattaya, in eastern Thailand, in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The young holidaymaker allegedly tried to break up the argument but it escalated before he found himself in the middle of dozens of furious women.

Onlookers said a 'Wild West type bar room brawl' erupted with punches and kicks being launched in a tangle of chrome dancing poles and stilettos.

Police finally arrived to break up the fracas at the Paradise Agogo in the city's semi-barbarous Soi Buakhao, which attracts mainly British visitors.

Jack was found battered and bruised with blood pouring down his white t-shirt. He was sprawled on the ground having been knocked out before being helped to his feet to recover.

He said: 'I'll be alright, I just want to get home to bed.'

Nick Hodge, a fellow Brit who has in the bar at the time, said the the fight started when two of the girls began arguing over who had dibs on the customer.

He said: 'I think there was a bit of jealousy going on over who was getting which punter. Before I knew it the girls were fighting. The poor kid only tried to stop them and he ended up getting a serious beating.

'There was hair being pulled and legs flying everywhere. Then the bar staff joined in and it became quite nasty. It was like a Wild West type bar fight you see in the old movies. Just mad.'

The woman involved in the initial fight, Sunaree Tungprakhon, 35, told police suffered a broken lip and cuts and bruises to her face.

She said her argument with a fellow dancer had caused the initial fracas. However, she said she did not want to press charges as she was afraid of the 'others involved retaliating against her'.

She said: 'There was a group of about 20 people, punching and kicking until my British friend was involved and also injured.

'I don't want to have problems with this group of people, I'm afraid that it will be dangerous.'

Police said the British tourist and his partner had given statements to police. Officers are now checking CCTV and interviewing the bar staff and dancers.

Lieutenant Colonel Natchaphol Saengsi, Deputy Inspector of Investigations at the Pattaya City Police Station, said: 'Most of the people involved were drunk but that is not a justification. Some witnesses said the injured tourist tried to run away from the bar but the staff chased him down and attacked him.

'We are tracking down all the suspects involved and will interview them to ensure fairness to both sides, before prosecuting in the legal process.'

The incident comes as ministers in the capital Bangkok consider extending nightlife opening hours from 2am to 4am to boost the country's tourism economy.

However, nightlife in Pattaya - dubbed the sex capital of the world - has become a sensitive area because of the damage the city often causes to the country's reputation.

The city was once a sleepy coastal village but over the last few decades has morphed into a depraved sex tourism destination where local women can earn more by selling themselves to British men.