Police probe if children took part in cage fight

BRITISH police are to investigate whether children as young as eight were put at risk by taking part in a cage fight.

The fight, involving two boys, took place at Greenlands Labour Club in Preston, Lancashire, on September 10 in front of a 250-strong adult audience.

A video of the bout posted online shows the two boys fighting in a cage without protective padding or head gear and receiving medical attention.

Last night, Lancashire police said they would be looking into “whether there were issues surrounding the safety of children”, while a children’s charity described the fight as “disturbing”.

But club owner Michelle Anderson defended her decision to stage the event — and Nick Hartley, the father of one of the boys, told the BBC his son was not at risk of harm.

He described it as a “controlled sport”.

Ms Anderson said: “The children were not doing cage fighting, they were just grappling, there was no punching, kicking or striking. The event was perfectly legal. There was only one fight for kids, which was a demonstration fight, the other fights were for adults.”