Three thugs who brutally attacked a German tourist have been arrested in a notorious coastal town in Thailand.

Motorcycle taxi drivers Ta, 18, Benz, 25, and Sek, 27, were among a gang of locals who reportedly battered German holidaymaker David Adrian Lelonek, 40, in the depraved city of Pattaya, early morning on March 25.

Shocking video showed the violent natives mercilessly pummeling David into the ground along Pattaya Walking Street at around 4:06 am. The savage attack had left the backpacker with facial swelling, multiple bruises and abrasions, and a deep cut on his left eyebrow.

The trio were arrested by cops a mere hour later. Appearing sheepish with their heads bowed at the police station, they reportedly admitted to the attack, claiming they joined the fray without knowing what sparked it.

One of the cabbies said: 'As fellow motorcycle taxi riders, we saw our acquaintance getting hurt and we decided to assist him without knowing what the German had done. We admit that we overreacted.'

Police Lieutenant Colonel Arut Suphanon of the Pattaya City Police Station said: 'After seeing the footage of the incident, I felt very uneasy, so I immediately ordered officers to go to the scene to collect evidence. They managed to apprehend three of the suspects for interrogation.

‘As for the injured tourist, he is still under the care of doctors and will come to the station to file a report later. At the same time, we will track down all suspects for legal action.'

The police boss criticised the gang's behaviour towards tourists, on whom the local economy depends, and for heavily damaging the city's tourism reputation.

He urged locals to file reports with police officers instead of taking the law into their own hands.

The incident is the latest in a surge of violence between tourists and locals in the notorious seaside town, which is best known for its round-the-clock adult nightlife.

In March, a British tourist was knocked out by a strip club bouncer. The tourist, 62, had reportedly been drinking at a nearby bar before trying to enter the lap dancing venue in Pattaya. However, he was blocked at the entrance by a tattooed Thai guard who knocked him out with a powerful punch.

Last year in a nearby bar on Soi 6 in Pattaya, a British tourist was left with suspected brain damage when a bouncer football kicked him in the head.

Footage showed the tourist lying on the ground while raising his hands pleading for them to stop. However, one of the guards then took a run-up and kicked his head at full force. Both his feet even came off the ground from the ferocity of the kick.

Former fishing village Pattaya became popular with American troops on 'rest and relaxation' breaks in the 1950s and 1960s when the U.S. military had bases in Thailand while fighting Communism in Vietnam. Rural families are said to have even dressed their sons as women to cash in on the gold rush.

The handful of bars in the coastal town quickly grew and it is now the world's biggest sex holiday destination, with round-the-clock prostitution and drugs - a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah rife with crime and debauchery.

Government chiefs have attempted to clean up the city but regular violence, depravity and claims of corruption continue to blight its reputation.