Two bloodied schoolboys punch, kick and headbutt each other as an adult with a video camera goads them on.

The sickening scenes show one child screaming as his frenzied attacker hits him before stamping on him in a Sussex bedroom.

All the time the adult holding the camera encourages the children to 'fight properly like guys' before the footage was posted on internet video sharing website YouTube.

At one point one of the boys breaks down.

Today The Argus offers a £1,000 reward for information which leads to a successful prosecution.

We took the difficult decision to carry it and not obscure the boys' faces in a bid to help people identify the man behind the camera.

The scene for the fight is a darkened children's bedroom thought to be in Crawley decorated in posters, with a white wardrobe and teddy bears in the corner.

Last night police backed The Argus's bid to find the adult who filmed the fights.

YouTube removed the two videos after we contacted the site.

West Sussex County Council's social services officers have launched an investigation into the footage and children's charities condemned the cameraman.

Inspector Mark Piper of Sussex Police said: "We have been made aware of two videos that have appeared on YouTube, which may or may not be linked with Crawley.

"Sussex Police take very seriously any situation where young children are subjected to violence and we appeal to anyone who can assist us with the identification of the people involved.

"We believe that YouTube have taken a sensible approach by suspending these videos and we support The Argus with this stance in public safety."

The Argus found two videos on YouTube, both filmed in the same bedroom with the same boys in each.

One was called Lethal Fight (Crawley) while the other was called Lethal Fight 2.

One of the boys is wearing a dark blue T-shirt while the other is wearing a white T-shirt.

At one point a boy is heard chanting 'Crawley, Crawley Town' while the other says Manchester. It is believed they were talking about the football teams they support.

At one point one of the boys looks to the camera and says 'Kicking is allowed, isn't it?' The videos were uploaded onto the internet five days ago. In one disturbing shot, a child no older than four, walks perilously close to the brawl before disappearing off camera.

All the while the adult filming tells the youngsters to 'smack the s*** out of each other', orders them not to hug and says 'you're fighting like girls, fight properly'.

The cameraman laughs when one of the boys begins to cry before encouraging him to retaliate with his fists.

At one point his legs can be seen as he pans the camera towards the ground.

YouTube said it will help police with its investigations. A spokesman said: "YouTube is a community site used by millions of people in very positive ways.

"Sadly as with any form of communication, there is a tiny minority of people who try to break the rules.

"On YouTube, these rules prohibit content like pornography or gratuitous violence.

"When people see content that they think is inappropriate they can flag it up and our staff then review it.

"If the content breaks our terms then we remove it and if a user repeatedly breaks the rules we disable their account."

A West Sussex County Council spokesman said: "We are grateful to The Argus for bringing these two films to our attention.

"They will be forwarded to the appropriate Child Care Team to see if the children in the films are known to us.

"The welfare of children is paramount to our Children and Young People's Services and if they are known to us we will take whatever action is appropriate."

An NSPCC spokeswoman said: "Fostering aggression between children is totally unacceptable."

The Argus is offering a £1,000 reward for information which leads to a successful prosecution if it is deemed that an offence has been committed. The reward will be paid at the Editor's discretion.

Anyone with information should contact Sussex Police on 0845 6070999 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

  • See the video footage here