Today’s generation just isn’t tough enough for Ray Winstone's liking.

The Sexy Beast actor has criticised the nation’s tendency to call police instead of dealing with matters in its own hands, claiming Brits have gone soft in an age of political correctness.

In an interview with The Mirror, he mourned a generation lost to an increasingly litigious society.

“We never used to call the police," he said. "If there’s a silly argument today, someone calls the police.

“Years ago it was dealt with. Not necessarily in a fight. But in a row someone said their piece and they went in and looked you in the eye and you said what you had to say.

“I just think those days have gone. Everything’s become very PC. Everything’s become almost like America - ‘You touch me, I sue you.’”

The 58-year-old, from north London, said his generation had a much simpler way of dealing with disagreements than the protracted legal conflicts parties undergo today. “Years ago if someone was out of line they got a clump and that was it.”