A fisherman fended off a ravenous crocodile by smashing its head with a boat's oar.

Palasay Dionga, 60, was checking on his seaweed patch, unaware that a saltwater crocodile below the surface was stalking him in Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines, on April 2.

The villager, who lives in a seaside stilt home, was wading in the shallows when the beast latched onto his arm and tried to drag him underwater.

Palasay screamed for help as he thrashed against the beast. With his free hand, he grabbed a wooden paddle from a nearby rowing boat and repeatedly bashed it against the predator's face.

The elderly pensioner said he aimed the oar for the croc's eyes to try and blind the beast.

He said: 'I summoned all my strength to resist the pull of the crocodile. It was the strongest thing I have ever felt in my life. The force of the teeth stabbing into my arms was like knives.

'I could see the crocodile's eyes. I remember feeling like I was staring at the devil. So I just hit the crocodile as hard as I could in the eyes to distract it from me.

'I don't know why it let go. Perhaps God intervened to save me.'

Residents arrived during the tussle and dragged heavily injured Palasay out of the sea as the croc swam away.

Footage shows the gruesome wounds left by the attack on Palasay's left arm. He received treatment from the local clinic and is now safe, village officials said.

Just a day earlier, another local, Rolly Mendoza Anting, 53, was rescued from a crocodile in the same area.

Rolly was reportedly spearfishing with his friends when the beast leapt out of the water and sank its fangs into his arm.

Fellow fishermen helped him escape by striking the reptile with their bolo blades.

Hafiz Dionga Lee, a resident who witnessed the attack, said: 'He was suddenly pounced on by the crocodile. It tried to bite him thrice. He didn't see it.'

On February 3, villager Sariul Sarakal, 27, survived a crocodile attack by allegedly elbowing the beast in its face.

He had been sitting on a wooden walkway near his stilt home when the beast jumped out of the sea to pull him off his perch. But before the predator could savage him with its violent 'death roll', he managed to dislodge its grip by elbowing its face repeatedly.

Gruesome footage showed housewives tending to an injured Sariul, seen nursing deep gashes near his ribs. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he received stitches for his wounds.

The local disaster response office (MDRRMO) said that since January 1, there have been four non-fatal crocodile attacks in the village, which known to be teeming with the predators.

MDRRMO spokesman Sarimar Atara said: 'We have coordinated with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, and fortunately, a group of trainers from the Philippine Biodiversity organisation will arrive to conduct training directly in the crocodile-infested areas.'