Disturbing video footage of vicious bare-knuckle fighting on a Bradford housing estate has been posted on the internet.

Half a dozen videos, condemned as "absolutely reprehensible" by community leaders, show blood-soaked teenagers going head-to-head in brawls in Holme Wood.

In one of the clips, posted on the YouTube website, a teenager is knocked to the ground, then repeatedly punched in the face until he finally re-emerges, covered in blood.

The videos show competitors taking off their shirts to distinguish themselves from the baying crowd, who surround the fighters and cheer every punch.

West Yorkshire Police said an inquiry had been started into reports of street fights in the Holme Wood area. Officers have increased patrols and will be visiting schools as part of their investigations.

YouTube has now removed a number of the videos because they violate the website's terms and conditions. Its rules prohibit videos featuring gratuitous violence and the company said it was sad that a tiny minority of people tried to break these rules.

Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe said: "There's a great deal of effort going into improving life in Holme Wood and what we don't want is the public being exposed to this. It creates fear and uncertainty.

"I would be opposed to this and would urge it to stop immediately. These people are not heroes or role models. They are breaking the law."

Mr Sutcliffe said he is due to meet YouTube bosses in his capacity as Minister for Culture, Media and Sport.

He said: "I will be raising the issue of these videos with YouTube. They should not be publicising this kind of thing. They have got to show more responsibility."

Tommy Hughes, Bradford Council's senior policy officer for safer communities, said: "Bradford Council finds these videos absolutely reprehensible and we have already contacted YouTube get this material removed.

"Councillors and council officers, including our neighbourhood wardens and Anti-Social Behaviour Team, will be offering West Yorkshire Police our full support in working to identify the people responsible for this criminal behaviour.

"We understand that this issue is not just a local one but something which has happened in other parts of the country and we will work with the Police and other agencies to stamp out such violence and anti-social behaviour."

Other illegal activities, including footage of motorbikes pulling wheelies and cars performing hand-brake turns on residential streets in Bradford, have also been posted on Youtube.

A West Yorkshire police spokesman said: "West Yorkshire Police are aware of activities, like those that appeared in the YouTube videos, that go on across the force and country.

"Bradford South Neighbourhood Policing Team 3 covers the area in question - Holme Wood.

"Inquiries are ongoing in response to reports of street fights in the area, and officers have increased patrols and will be visiting schools as part of their inquiry.

"West Yorkshire Police cannot base investigations on video clips. If a crime is reported we will investigate it."

A YouTube 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 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."

Canon Gordon Dey, vicar of Tong and Holme Wood, said: "If that sort of thing is happening in Holme Wood, then it's extremely rare and very untypical.

"Life is not generally like that here. The impression I have got is that Holme Wood is improving all the time.

"I am really quite surprised because we doing a lot of work here for young people on the estate.

"The thing with this estate is that it's a vast place and it's the biggest social housing estate in Bradford by a long way. To describe it in simple terms is not possible.

"This could be happening in pockets of Holme Wood where there are more problems than elsewhere. It's easy to brand an estate like Holme Wood as all being the same - but that's not the case. There are huge variations."