Miroslav Tomasevic become the most popular father in his area after the media reported he had been sentenced to three months in prison for beating a teenaged hooligan.

Tomasevic, 58, beat the hooligan, 17, in May 2009 because he had attacked his own son of the same age.

His son was attacked by a group of teenagers who left him without teeth and with a broken nose and many bruises.

Tomasevic said: "My son even tried to hide that from me. He did not want anyone in the city to know he had been beaten. He claimed he had fallen on the stairs. But, in the end, he confessed everything to me, and I found the main attacker."

The father confessed that he was not proud of himself for having beaten the boy but claimed he had had no choice since he had decided not to tolerate teen hooliganism.

The daily Jutarnji list has reported that he has received support from numerous parents whose children have been faced with the same situation.

Many parents contacted him and even asked for advice because they were helpless in the face of teen hooliganism in their area. One father from Zadar even asked him to help him catch three hooligans who had beaten his son. A policeman from Zagreb whose son had been beaten by hooligans in a tram also contacted him.

In response to parents' reaction, Tomasevic said the fight against juvenile delinquency needed to be improved and parents needed to be included in it