Blind man beats up intruder

US police have praised a blind man who used wrestling skills learned 30 years ago to overpower an intruder and hold the man at knife-point until help arrived.

"I've wrestled all my life. My dad's a Marine. He taught me some stuff. You're thinking in your head all this survival stuff," Allan Kieta told TheStarPress.com.

Indianapolis police called it one of the most incredible tales of citizen self-defence they had encountered.

"It's pretty remarkable for anyone that's blind to be able to defend themselves, let alone make an apprehension," Lieutenant Jeff Duhamell said.

"To be able to grab this guy and hold him down until police got there is pretty remarkable."

Kieta, 49, was sleeping in on his day off yesterday when his dog woke him around 9am, letting him know something was wrong.

"We have a little poodle-like dog. It was barking and barking," he said.

Kieta lost sight in his left eye at age two when he was hit with a stick. Then, 20 years ago, a gunman firing at cars from an overpass in Kentucky took out his other eye.

He was a Kentucky high school wrestling champ in 1976 and used his skills and other self-defence tactics learned from his father to subdue the intruder.

"I had him pinned in the laundry room and just kept pummelling," Kieta said, describing the pounding he gave 25-year-old Alvaro Castro.

Kieta punched, kicked and grappled until Castro became disoriented. Kieta said he grabbed him by the belt and dragged him into the kitchen.

I was asking, 'Why my house?'," Kieta recalled.

"He said he was looking for his cat. I go, 'Your cat? You're in my house!"'

He then found a kitchen knife and held it at Castro's throat. Kieta fumbled to dial 911 with his other hand.

"He was begging, like, 'Don't kill me. I'll dial it for you'," Kieta said. "I was, like, 'You are not touching the phone'.

"Being visually impaired, I couldn't get the buttons because I was using my left hand. It took me about 20 tries."

Police quickly arrived at Kieta's house to arrest Castro, who was hospitalised following the incident and faces a string of charges.

Police say Castro denied trying to rob the home.

He said he was the ex-boyfriend of Kieta's 18-year-old daughter and was trying to visit her when he ran into her father.

Kieta said he suffered swollen hands and a sore back, but no serious injuries.

"When my wife was cleaning the blood off, she said, 'I think it's all his'," Kieta said.

- AAP