A FATHER captured flattening a yob on a St Helens estate in a video clip sweeping the internet has been hailed a local hero by web viewers.

But ex-soldier Jason Smith, a 15st master of karate and jiu-jitsu, has played down such remarks, telling the Star: “I’m no hero I was just a normal guy who was protecting his family.”

In the video – viewed several hundred thousands of times on various websites – an aggressive man is seen hurling abuse at St Helens dad Jason and trying to goad him into a fight on Woodcroft Way, on the Four Acre estate.

Remarkably, double black belt Jason (35) – who says his family reported up to 60 crimes in a one year stay on the estate - stands on his doorstep keeping his cool…until the yob kicks over a dustbin.

He then floors the foul-mouthed aggressor with a quickfire martial arts move – known as a falcon punch The yob then scrambles away from the scene on his knees while a crowd gathered on the estate looks on.

The video, which contains foul language and scenes of violence, can be viewed here:

This week Jason, who now lives in another area of St Helens with his wife Rebecca and 22-month old daughter , told the Star: “From the moment he started pushing me I was weighing him up.

“It go to the point when I decided I had had enough and in the end I hit him and put him on his backside.

“The lightbulb then finally came on and he realised he had picked on the wrong bloke and started fleeing.

“He got arrested by the police and the matter went through the courts.”

The footage dates back to May 2008. It is understood the mobile phone footage was initially placed on the YouTube website but removed.

However, after being uploaded a second time – and later picked up by a freelance journalist and sold to a national tabloid – it has become an internet phenomenon.

Jason added: “We had endured a nightmare living up there, my wife was ill at the time and our little one just a few months old.

“After I hit him we didn’t get much more trouble from the yobs – but we were glad to get a move to somewhere else.”

Meanwhile, Superintendent Rob Carden from the police in St Helens confirmed police had dealt with the crime, saying: "Following this incident, which occurred in May 2008, officers arrested and charged a 22-year-old man from the local area with criminal damage and a Public Order Offence (Section 4). The man has since been convicted at court.

"People who think this type of behaviour is acceptable can expect the full attention of the police and we will not rest until the offenders are brought to justice."