David Russell bravely tackles the man to the ground
Horrified onlookers watched as a teenager tackled a man who sprayed flammable liquid before attempting to set himself on fire.
The incident happened right outside Belfast City Hall yesterday.
The man set fire to a patch of ground as rush hour commuters looked on, some unsure as to whether or not the man was performing some sort of act.
As schoolgirls and boys filmed the man on their mobile phones, some were doused with the flammable liquid the man sprayed on himself.
He was heard to be shouting: "F**k the system" before 18-year-old Russell took matters into his own hands and wrestled the man to the ground.
Mr Russell said after the incident: "He came from nowhere and started setting paper on fire. At the start we thought he was going to do a trick with fire and even when he poured the liquid over himself it seemed too weird to be true.
He added: "When we tried to talk to him he poured some of the liquid over myself and a young girl and started screaming and swearing."
"I don't know if I punched him or pushed him, I just wanted to get him away from the fire."
When the police arrived on the scene they used a stun gun to subdue the man who was detained under the mental health act.