A FACEBOOK video showing a teenager being bullied which went viral last week was recorded just hours after his attacker was in court for stealing a television.

The 14-year-old boy, seen in the video demanding his victim kiss his friend's shoe then punching him to the ground, kicking and spitting on him, appeared at Swindon Youth Court today to admit assault.

He had been given a referral order that morning by the same court for the theft from his own sister.

He later decided to upload the footage of his actions, recorded on a camera phone, to Facebook page Craziest Sports Fights.

The owner of the social media page – based in Australia – decided to post the video on a different page, which has since been viewed more than 50,000 times, and informed police.

Kate Prince, prosecuting, told the court the 17-year-old victim had been walking home from ice skating at the Link Centre with a friend at 9pm last Tuesday when he saw a boy he knew from school.

“He was swinging an empty bottle he had tied a string around, and used that bottle to strike the victim on the legs,” she said.

“The younger boy then turned away shouting in the direction of the Link Centre where there were a large number of people, saying that [the victim] was getting mouthy.”

The victim then continued to walk away when he heard the voice of the defendant shouting ‘get back here’, at which point he started running away, the court heard.

He ran out of breath and was surrounded by seven youths when the video recording began.

In the video, the 14-year-old is heard saying ‘why are you getting mouthy with my brother, kiss his shoe,’ before asking ‘do you want a broken jaw?’

Ms Prince said: “The victim is heard to say ‘what have I done?’

“The defendant swings a punch with his right hand and kicks him to the left hand side before spitting on him.

“As a result the victim is scared to leave the house and worries about answering the phone. He feels belittled and small about being forced to kiss the boy’s shoe.”

Wayne Hardy, defending the teenager, said he was remanded in custody over the weekend for his own protection.

“These offences happen the same day of being put on a referral order for theft in relation to his sister's television,” he said.

“He is only 14, which comes as a surprise given his relative size. He says this happened because he was protecting his co-accused, and bravado took over.

“His offending only started a few months ago, and he has amassed four serious convictions in that time.”

A member of the youth offending team told the court: “This is a worrying escalation. It is nasty bullying with degradation.”

The 14-year-old will be sentenced on June 30 after an all-options pre-sentence report is prepared. He was released on bail with a doorstep curfew between 8pm and 7am.

A 13-year-old from Swindon has been charged with common assault and a public order offence and will appear in youth court on June 23.