"FIGHTING is fun," says James Whiston, who is among a growing number of people taking part in a brutal and bloody new sport.

Cage fighting, a no-holds-barred mix of boxing, wrestling and martial arts, is becoming one of the world's fastest growing sports.

James, 22, from Batchley, said: "I started with Olympic freestyle wrestling when I was 15 and went on to learn about other grappling arts like jujitsu.

"Then I was introduced to Ross Mason, one of the UK's top mixed martial arts fighters and it went from there."

Cage fighting is a fully regulated combat sport with rules such as no biting and no eye-gouging and requires fighters to wear protective gloves.

To some, it's an exhilarating form of combat, while to others, it seems brutal and violent.

James said: "At school, if you had kids playing football in one corner, tag in another and two kids fighting in another, everyone would run and watch the fight.

"People like to watch fighting, everyone wants to see a knock-out.

"It's my favourite thing to do. I want to fight as much as I can before I have to get a proper job."

The sport was invented in America during the 1990s, when an organisation called Ultimate Fighting decided TV audiences would pay to watch an organised version of a Wild West bar-room brawl.

"Even my parents come and enjoy it. They've started to understand the respect there is between fighters," said James.