A walking stick-wielding 91-year-old confronted a violent thug after he attacked a defenceless traffic warden.

Rupert Webb, who played cricket for Sussex in the 1950s, sprung to his feet after witnessing the incident and attempted to give the attacker a “jolly good clout” with his stick.

Onlookers watched in disbelief as the incident unfolded in Worthing on July 11.

Mr Webb was waiting for his wife at the Linwood Strong opticians in Chapel Road when he spotted a confrontation between a “wellbuilt”

man of “about 50” and a young traffic warden.

The thug is said to have berated the youngster before punching him in the chest and then again in the face – breaking his glasses.

Enraged, the 91-year-old jumped to his feet and ran after the man.

He said: “I had a firm grip on my walking-stick and I was about to give the attacker a jolly good clout with it.

“Fortunately, at that moment, a police car came round the corner and the man was arrested and taken away.”

The once pin-up boy of English cricket now lives in Rottingdean.

Following his career as a wicketkeeper he tried his hand at acting and starred in hit film Four Weddings and a Funeral.

His wife, Barbara, who is famed for turning down a marriage proposal from Elvis Presley, said: “I was frankly terrified.

“Rupert has no fear of anything, and no awareness of the danger to a 91-year-old in being involved in a confrontation”.

Speaking after the incident from his Falmer Road home, Mr Webb added: “I simply do not condone violence in any shape or form. I saw this young man being attacked and having his glasses broken, and I thought, ‘I’m not putting up with this’, so I rushed out to try to help him.”

A Sussex Police spokesman said: “Just before 4pm on July 18, patrolling police officers came upon an incident in which the driver of a parked car was assaulting a 22-year-old parking warden in Chapel Road, Worthing, by punching him in the chest.

“The 60-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of assault and later accepted a formal police caution for common assault.

“The warden did not require hospital treatment. A member of the public witnessed the incident and made a statement to police.”