Calls grow for ban on brutal game

Calls were growing today for an ultra-violent computer game to be banned after it was blamed for the brutal murder of a schoolboy.

Manhunt, which awards players points for inflicting bloody deaths, has already been withdrawn at Dixons and the Game chain with other retailers set to follow.

It comes after the mother of Stefan Pakeerah, 14, who was battered with a claw hammer and stabbed to death by a friend, said his killer was "obsessed" with the game.

It has already been banned in New Zealand.

Warren Leblanc, 17, pleaded guilty to murder at Leicester Crown Court on Wednesday. Stefan's mother Giselle called the killer "inherently evil" but pinned much of the blame on the game.

The computer games industry said the outcry was a "kneejerk" reaction.