Man arrested after being caught on camera violently attacking 12-year-old boy

Youngster's dad says: 'Come mess with somebody your own size'

Astonishing phone footage showing a 12-year-old boy being attacked by a 39-year-old has gone viral and led to the older man’s arrest.

Alex Anderson suffered cuts, bruises and a twisted ankle as well as having his mobile phone smashed during the incident.

His assailant William Conte has since been charged with harassment and criminal mischief.

Events unfolded after young Alex recorded a woman in a car who he says was taking pictures of him and a friend while they rode bikes near their home in Long Island, New York.

Mobile footage shows William Conte, 39, attacking Alex Anderson, 12

He says he recorded the woman's license plate and her face. "I'm like, 'Why are you recording us? What's your problem?'" he told Connecticut’s News 12 channel.

He can also be heard calling the woman a “lowlife”. It is not clear if the two know each other. But it was during the exchange that her husband, Conte, came running down the street to intervene.

In the video, he can be seen levelling Alex before throwing the phone into the street. He then appears to realise he is himself being recorded - by Alex's friend - and starts to approach the second boy before the video ends.

After seeing the footage, Alex's father Christian Anderson called the incident "absurd”.

A somewhat burly individual himself, he said: “Come mess with somebody your own size. Don't pick on a 12-year-old."

And he added that it was he who had previously told his son to video anyone he believed to be following him.

He said: “If anybody is ever following you, videoing you, taking pictures of you, you do the same thing back. Because I don't know if my son is going to get kidnapped."