News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A bizarre new craze has women catfighters brawling in lingerie to earn £150.

Photographs show them pulling one another's hair, slapping each other and pinning other women to the ground.

But organisers have denied the fights are staged for the sexual gratification of blokes.

Scantily-clad fighters, many of them in stockings and suspenders, square up to each other at secret venues for a £300 winner’s purse.

Catfighting is the secret craze sweeping Northern Ireland .

Enticed by the promise of ‘easy money’, friends and strangers engage in vicious pre-arranged catfights which are then filmed and sold online across the globe.

On websites dedicated to the catfighters, girls brawl topless and in skimpy bikinis.

(Image: Cascade News)

DVDs of the fights can be bought for around £11 with websites promising round-the-world shipping.

And some clients pay to have private fights staged for them.

In one case organisers issued a Facebook appeal for girls to take part in a fight for an American businessman visiting Belfast.

In another post they were trying to set up an ‘Old Firm’ fight with girls clad in Rangers and Celtic shirts taking each other on.

In both instances there was no shortage of takers. John Thompson is the local organiser. His Facebook profile lists him as being an employee of UK Catfights and he uses social media to call for women willing to “battle” each other in a private duel which is then filmed for fetish websites.

These websites are overtly pornographic with staged pictures of girls having what little clothing they have being torn from their bodies.

In Northern Ireland women are paid £150 for taking part with the winner bagging a further £300.

Mr Thompson bizarrely claimed there was no catfighting scene in Northern Ireland, despite him openly arranging fights on social media.

(Image: Cascade News)

“It’s a big thing in England, America and other European countries like Germany and Italy,” he said.

“I started this page as a bit of an experiment to see how a catfighting company would be received over here. Surprisingly there were quite a few girls willing to give it a go, but I never took it any further than chatting about it.”

He said pictures on his page have been taken from the internet: “Sorry it’s not a very good story but I thought I would tell you the truth.”

Thompson’s denial is all the more strange as right up to this weekend he was commenting about fights he had arranged and the number of girls he had signed up.

On July 15 he posted pictures he claimed had come from a fight the previous night. He trawls for girls for private fights and boasts of ‘great scraps’ he has organised for August.

He also repeatedly brags about the money the fighters can make. On June 17 he posted a picture of a girl as she prepared for her fight that afternoon and pledges a series of open-air fights over the summer period.

Combatants openly goad each other online. Belfast girl Chantelle Mullan vowed to rip her opponent’s head off.

The platinum blonde, known as Wee Chazy, posed a picture of herself in fighter pose beside her opponent.

“Cat fight club bring it onnn. I’m gonna rip ur head clean aff. Hahahaha can’t fkn wait. Thanks John Thompson x Let me know wen and wer cuz I’m gonna damage this wee doll.”

Rather than friends being horrified by her taunts and threats one asked: “Wer u fyting i wana watch xx.”

To which Chantelle confirmed it was a pre-arranged private match with very strict rules.

(Image: Cascade News)

“Its a private cat fight club babe its gonna be recorded ur not aloud to punch or kick fs just slap and trail heads and... head kicks anol.”

The Sunday World also tried to contact Chantelle, she did not respond.

Fight locations vary from private homes, sheds, even outdoors. The locations are only ever shared with the fighters and whoever is paying for the private duel.

The catfight craze has drawn considerable online criticism, with one Belfast mother commenting on Thompson’s Facebook that she found it “scary and violent”.

“When I looked at some of the websites these videos are being sold to it is obvious to me that these young women are being lured into taking part in pornographic matches. It’s absolutely scandalous.”

In his response, Thompson accused her of “narrow-mindedness” and that if she didn’t like it “find that wee unfollow button and give it a wee click”.

Despite pictures all over his social media profiles of semi-naked women writhing around, John regularly reinforces the clothing issue.

(Image: Cascade News)

“We pay £150 to £300 for at the most 20 minutes of wrestling. That’s great money for all your doing. Also a lot of girls are put off with the idea that this has to be in underwear.

“I can’t stress enough that we leave it up to each girl what she chooses to wear for her fight. So you can wear whatever you like.”

Everybody on his Facebook page was dressed in skimpy underwear.

And he even caters for the international traveller. In May he posted: “Short notice, but we need 2 girls for a private catfight next weekend. We have a client that is over here from the USA on business and has heard of our work and wants to see a catfight match while he is here.

“As this is a short notice match we will be paying each girl £200 and a winner’s bonus of £300.”

There was no shortage of takers.

However innocently he portrays it, pictures on his Facebook constantly references foxycombat.

On its home page, where members pay $29 per month, visitors can find topless and fully naked stills from videos.

“Very pretty young women focused on fighting, always competitive, sometimes rough.

“That’s what we like! Being a Fox is to be wild, clever, bitchy and strong… but always foxy,” the website boasts.