Urine trouble! Boy trapped in lift after wee prank backfires

A video of a boy in China urinating in a lift, causing it to break down, has gone viral and been used as a warning to parents to keep control of their children.

The Ministry of Public Security has released the video showing the youngster urinating over the buttons of an elevator in a building in Chongqing, south west China.

The prank backfired, trapping the boy inside before he was later rescued.

The video was posted on the ministry's social order offences account on Weibo, China's popular Twitter-like service, under the headline "Stop being naughty!"

The footage, which has been viewed more than 12m times, shows the lift's control panel fusing, its lights turning on and off and its doors opening and closing, leaving the unidentified boy visibly distressed.

He is seen frantically pressing the buttons to try to get out.

In a post, the Ministry of Public Security said: "The child was trapped before being rescued. Please educate and take good care of your children!"

Weibo users were quick to criticise the child's parents, with one popular comment saying: "Behind a naughty child there are definitely naughty parents."

Another said: "No family education; I especially detest these sort of children."

One user called for the child's family to foot the bill, commenting: "Don't forget to charge his parents for the repair cost."

The ministry did not say if any action had been taken against the boy or his parents.