A dozy car thief was knocked clean out after he tried to steal a new Mercedes coupe from outside a pub by throwing a brick at the driver's side window which bounced back, striking him in the head.

The thief was found lying in the road near the Pheasant Bar by the pub's owner who automatically assumed that the man had been injured in hit-and-run.

However, when Gerry Brady asked the man what happened, he said he had been 'attacked' but did not want to call the police or an ambulance.

The would-be car thief, picture, initially tries to break the passenger side window without success

He then can be seen crossing the street where he picks up a brick across from The Pheasant Bar

The man raises his arm, preparing to hit the new car which was parked in Drogheda, Co Louth, Ireland

Soon, it emerged what had happened when Mr Brady and his partner noticed some damage to the paintwork on his new car.

He told the Irish Examiner newspaper: 'My partner then noticed the damage to her car, I had a look at the Merc and could see dents on it. We got the cops and they took him away after we showed them the CCTV.

'We have the whole thing on CCTV, and it’s quite hilarious.'

According to Mr Brady, the thief spent up to 30 minutes trying a more subtle method of breaking into the car.

The thief can be seen using a small stone in a bid to break the passenger's side window of the car.

When this attempt failed, the would-be thief is seen on CCTV walking across the street before returning with something in his hand

The man can be seen throwing a large brick firmly at the driver's side window of the coupe, which does not shatter.

Instead, the brick rebounds against the glass and strikes the thief on the head.

Since the CCTV footage of the incident was uploaded onto the internet, it has been viewed almost 300,000 times.

The man launches the brick with all his might at point-blank range against the window of the car