MS LARA Liotta was walking on a street in central Rome when a man, a Romanian immigrant, approached her and asked her for a cigarette. When she told him she did not smoke, he allegedly lunged for her and grabbed her around the neck in broad daylight.

Ms Liotta, 29, who works as a prison officer and is Italy's four-time women's karate champion, immediately put her black-belt training to good use, delivering two swift jabs to the man's face, which sent him crashing to the ground.

Ms Liotta was fortunate she could rely on her skills to fight off her attacker, because there was no assistance from passers-by, despite the attack happening shortly after rush hour on Monday.

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