Anger at sick web fight videos

Aug 3 2008 by Phil Doherty, Sunday Sun

TWO sickening videos showing horrific violence on North streets have been posted on the internet, we can reveal.

The graphic pictures showing mass brawls including what appears to be a knife attack as well as a man being repeatedly kicked in the head, are to be found on YouTube.

Our discovery comes after the video sharing website was slammed last week by MPs for failing to stop images of violence being shown.

The most graphic of the two videos we found is called “Sunderland on CCTV”.

It shows a number of fights and mass brawls including one where a man is punched to the ground and has his mobile phone stolen.

Many victims appear to be left unconscious or seriously injured.

Although Sunderland is mentioned in the title, the video is believed to be CCTV footage from nightclubs and bars throughout the region.

Sickeningly it had been posted to both the comedy and entertainment sections of the website.

Last night both videos had been removed as a result of the Sunday Sun alerting YouTube to the nature of their content.

After seeing the video, Colin Clark, head of land and property for Sunderland City Council, said: “Whilst much of it is clearly not in Sunderland, the tiny percentage that is has been taken from CCTV footage from private premises.

“The council cannot condone in any shape or form the fact that violent images have been posted on the internet in this way.

“CCTV should only be used in a responsible way, for example for footage to be used in criminal prosecutions. Any recorded images taken by the city council and its partners are securely stored and safely disposed of.”

The second video, called South Shields Fyts, shows youths fighting in the street, outside a shop and in a garden.

Superintendent Paul Beasley, of Northumbria Police, said: “Parts of the footage in this clip were actually used as part of a successful Asbo application.

“The remainder of the tape is still under investigation by police at South Tyneside.”

It was during a commons culture and media committee meeting last week that YouTube was attacked by MPs. They accused the company of failing to protect children from videos of violence and even graphic sex.

The committee called for the company, now owned by Google, to filter the videos before they go on line.

A YouTube spokesperson 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.

“If the police ask us for information, we will cooperate, so long as they follow the correct legal process that the government introduced.”