New research from the Chance to Shine campaign has revealed the extent of "psychological warfare" experienced by children as young as eight-years-old while playing sport at school.

Chance to Shine - in partnership with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) - polled 1,250 kids between eight- and 16-years-old, as well as 1,010 parents of children from the same age group.

More than two thirds of the children (68 per cent) had witnessed verbal abuse during school matches, while 66 per cent of parents had seen "different forms" of mental intimidation in games.

Meanwhile, 51 per cent of children admitted to being a victim of taunts or threats and 55 per cent had seen physical violence - a quarter of which had seen a team mate deliberately fouled.

MCC head of cricket John Stephenson said: "The results from the survey highlight an alarming trend in school sport, which needs to be pro-actively addressed."

Last year, the Chance to Shine/MCC study found that the UK's young people were "bad losers", with two thirds of parents admitting their child reacted badly if they did not win.

Details: www.lords.org

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