This is the shocking moment a Thai vendor fought back against a drunk tourist who slapped him in the face in a depraved beach town in Thailand.

Achirak Ball, 32, who rents out beach mats, said he was drinking alcohol when the large-built backpacker approached and started insulting him near Jomtien Beach in 'Sin City' Pattaya.

Footage shows the cocky holidaymaker slapping Ball while saying: 'I don't care, I will make you my b***h. You touch lady, you think I did not see?'

When more locals tried to calm him down, he dared them: 'You want to fight? I'll fight you too, I don't care.'

Ball, no longer able to endure the abuse, blew up and threw a punch at the stocky tourist, sparking a brawl. When the vendor was overpowered by the larger man, the Thai locals came to his aid by smashing a beer bottle over the tourist's head.

Police later arrived to break up the fight.

Speaking after the violent altercation, Ball said: 'The tourist seemed drunk. I didn't know what his problem was because I couldn't understand what he was saying, but he slapped me in the face first.

'I tried to be patient. I didn't want any trouble because I had just been released from prison and I'm trying to live an honest life. But it eventually became too much, and I fought back as seen in the video.

'I chose not to file a complaint. The foreigner may have suffered a fractured skull, but I don't know if he pressed charges.

'Some tourists might get a bad impression of Thais from this, but I just want to prove that I'm trying to be a better person. I'm just renting out mats to earn a living. Please give me a chance. Don't hurt Thais. We seem like the bad guys when we try to defend ourselves, but in reality, it's not always the tourists who are in the right.'

Thailand has been marred by over-tourism as the Thai government implements a visa-free scheme to boost revenue following the barren pandemic years.

However, angry locals claim the push for tourist dollars has attracted crowds of 'low-quality' visitors from Russia, India and Australia.

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.