A former Tourism Director was told to "f*** off" on a Hamilton Street yesterday ? and then the foul-mouthed lout justified his action by referring to a story in .

Colin Selley, 76, worked in tourism for 34 years and was Director of Tourism from 1975 to 1984. He was horrified yesterday to come across a pair of men swearing at each other in the city streets, which were filled with tourists.

When he reprimanded one of the men for his language, he received an unexpected reply.

"Did you read the paper this morning?" the man asked.

"Yes," Mr. Selley replied.

"Well in that case f*** off!" the man said.

The two men had been loudly swearing at each other and one was on crutches, he told .

"The cruise ships were in and a lot of visitors were in town. It adds nothing to the environment with foul language," Mr. Selley said.

He heard the men yelling "f*** off" and then felt a jab as he tried to pass them.

In trying to hit the man he was swearing at, the second man had poked Mr. Selley in the shoulder with his crutch.

He spun around to confront the man, asking: "What the hell are you doing?"

The man on the crutches was quick to apologise.

"I'm sorry I did not mean to hit you," he said.

He said he was aiming for the man he was swearing at.

But when Mr. Selley suggested the men tone it down due to the presence of tourists, he was told to 'f*** off' which, some argue, is not necessarily offensive.