This is the shocking moment prostitutes fought over clients in depraved tourist town Pattaya.

Footage shows the sex workers, seen wearing short dresses that revealed their thighs and cleavages, exchanging blows amid a downpour in the Thai Sin City on May 14.

Bouncers from a nearby bar intervened and pulled the violent hookers away from each other. They were all hauled to the Pattaya City Police Station to explain their behaviour.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Thanongsak Inpadung said: 'Both parties could not reach an agreement. For now, they were ordered to undergo a physical examination before we can proceed with legal action.'

Locals in the area believe the chaotic catfight erupted over competition for well-paying customers.

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.