Mugger learns painful lesson after trying to rob swimming instructor

A construction worker is being hailed as a hero after he thwarted a mugging attempt in the northeastern Argentina city of Bernal.

Surveillance video showed the victim, Nicólas, standing by his vehicle when one of three suspects ambushed him in broad daylight on Monday.

The mugger punched the swimming instructor in the face and caused him to fall in the middle of the street as his accomplices waited on two motorcycles to escape.

Nicólas can be seen kicking at the attacker, who then began to choke him.

As he lay unresponsive, the construction worker rushed the mugger and tackled him to the ground as his coworker ran over.

The perp subsequently got on his feet and hopped on the back of one of the motorcycles and fled the scene without stealing Nicólas personal belongings.

Nicólas told Argentine news network TN that he was on his way to visit his son at a local soccer clubs facility when the mugger approached him as he removed a backpack, where he stored money for the purchase of a new cell phone.

The guy hit me and the bricklayers were there, they have been working there for a long time, we chatted and we know each other, Nicólas explained.

A mugger approaches Nicólas, a swimming instructor, before a quick-thinking construction worker ran over and tackled him to the ground on Monday in Bernal, a city in northeastern Argentina

The mugger began to choke Nicólas in a failed attempt to steal his backpack

Nicólas was lying on the ground unresponsive for a moment before a construction worker he befriended a while ago came to his defense and tackled the mugger (circled) 

The mugger ran towards one of his two accomplices (seen on the motorcycles) and fled

I shouted at them and one of them recognized me, thats why he ran away," he added.

Cesar, the big guy, is a boss. When he saw it was me, he jumped on top of one of the criminals.

Nicólas lauded Cesars valiant response.

It is a liberated zone and luckily I can tell you, I am fine, and nobody has to regret an event that could have ended in death, he said.

It was a heroic act by the bricklayer who threw himself on top of the criminals to stop them from beating me. They were kicking me in the head.