'Disturbing' BBC clip shows man nibbling young boy's ear at snooker as police investigate

A troubling clip from the World Snooker Championship, showing a man gnawing on a young lad's ear, is currently under police scrutiny. It comes after concerns were aired about the incident on social media.

The incident was spotted by viewers watching the BBC's coverage of the prestigious event in Sheffield. As snooker legend Stephen Hendry was analysing a game, the cameras captured the incident.

The peculiar moment, which some viewers described as giving them "the creeps", saw the man appear to be communicating something to the boy followed by a soft nibble on his earlobe. Upon noticing they were being filmed, both responded with grins and enthusiastic waving.

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South Yorkshire Police are now investigating. Confirming the inquiry, a spokesperson said: "Yesterday, Thursday 25 April at 9.20pm, we received a call to inform us of a video circulating on social media of a man and a boy at the Crucible in Sheffield.

"We are aware of the footage and officers will be reviewing the content."

Many snooker fans voiced their concern online. One asked police: "Please do whatever you can to investigate this.",

Another added: "This is totally disgusting... Hopefully something will be done regarding this asap." Another upset bystander questioned South Yorkshire Police's action, saying, "It's all well and good saying you've received reports but are you going to act on those reports. Surely you can't think that's normal behaviour towards a child, even if it was his child? ".