A rampaging tourist sparked panic when he allegedly attacked locals at a fast food outlet.

The holidaymaker reportedly made brief eye contact with Somjet, 52, before chasing him across a busy street while wielding a motorcycle helmet in resort town Pattaya, eastern Thailand, on Monday evening.

The suspect was said to have tried bashing Somjet with the headgear before locals arrived to drive him away.

Footage shows the man darting across the road to hide in a pizza restaurant.

Police arrived at the small shop at 11:06 pm and found the tourist rambling as he clutched the helmet tight to his chest.

A Nong Prue Police Station spokesman said: 'He was terrified and talking nonsense. He said he wanted to be on the news so that he could be famous and his relatives would notice him. He said he wanted to find his wife whom he had not seen for months, and even asked reporters to air his story.'

The man did not resist arrest and calmly followed the officers to the police truck. He was handcuffed and taken to a hospital for a check-up.

Police said he will then be hauled to the police station for further investigation.

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.