Police are hunting a tourist who allegedly set off fireworks that caused a blaze at a shop in Thailand.

The holidaymaker was said to have placed the box of fireworks upside-down in front of a bar in Thai 'Sin City' Pattaya just after midnight on December 26.

CCTV footage shows the heavily tattooed shirtless man with a reindeer headband lighting the explosives on the street. He waited with arms outstretched for the fireworks to fly into the sky but the shots fired into a nearby bar instead, sending bar girls and customers fleeing in panic.

The fireworks sparked a fire that spread through the row of shops as the tourist reportedly escaped the scene in a cab he hired through a ride-hailing app.

A Pattaya City Police Station spokesman said: ‘Many people affected by the incident have filed a report with the inquiry officer. They asked us to capture the foreign man for legal action.'

Authorities said the blaze caused 20,000 baht (465 GBP) in damages.

Maem, 38, an employee of a nearby store, said the holidaymaker had lit the fireworks to celebrate Christmas.

She said: 'I heard someone lighting fireworks near the front of the shop. Then I saw sparks flying. I wondered what was happening so I went outside to look and saw fireworks flying towards me.

'People were screaming and running for their lives. I tried to run away but couldn't because the fireworks were flying in every direction. I was afraid I would be hit.'

Street vendor Sutthipong U-yart, 35, said he saw the tourist carrying the large fireworks box as he walked through the red-light district.

He said: 'After he lit the fuse, the foreigner placed the box upside down. He did not point the opening end toward the sky but instead pointed it toward the ground, causing the firecrackers to explode violently.'

Police said they were searching for the tourist, described as a 6.4ft bald, heavily tattooed man.

Fireworks are regulated under Thai law, but smaller ones are sometimes tolerated during festivals and holidays. However, the lax regulations have resulted in numerous injuries and deaths.

On January 1, 2020, British tourist Gary McLaren, 50, from Northamptonshire, was killed when a firework he was trying to light exploded at a New Year's Eve party also in Pattaya City.

Former fishing village Pattaya became popular with American troops on 'rest and relaxation' breaks in the 1960s when the U.S. military had bases in Thailand. In the ensuing years, the coastal resort spawned into a semi-barbarous sex-tourism hellscape.

Embarrassed officials have made progress in gentrifying the region with family tourism projects but a ravenous nightlife industry and corrupt police have hampered their efforts, with undesirables from all nations still attracted to the seedy city.

(1 GBP = 42.96 THB)