BUENOS AIRES - The grandson of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco could face legal charges after he allegedly struck and hurled a stream of racist invectives at a female Argentine railway guard.

Francisco Franco Martinez Bordiu, the son of Franco's only daughter, was allegedly angry after attempting to board a departing train in the Spanish city of Zaragoza, he then hit and insulted the female guard, the Movement for Argentines Abroad said.

"It was an act of xenophobia and manifest racism," a member of the group, Gustavo Maradini, told Argentine television.

According to eyewitnesses, quoted by the Argentine media, Franco arrived in a rush to the station only to find the train doors closed.

He made his way through a closed barricade and began banging on the windows in an effort to get the train to stop.

The display apparently attracted the attention of two stewardesses and the young security guard, whom Franco allegedly hit and threw to the floor shouting "go back to your own f**king country."

The episode occurred last week Argentine media reported, adding that police were investigating the matter.

Franco, 55, has denied carrying out the act. -AFP