TEENAGERS are still putting their lives at risk by filming deadly stunts for a website two years after a schoolboy was almost killed when a prank went wrong.

Today police and an MP slammed magistrates for letting off' the 17-year-old Darwen youth who masterminds the site after he pleaded guilty to an assault and intent to injure.

The case was brought after he set a boy's back on fire and burned a smiley face into a another boy's arm.

But the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was given a conditional discharge after Blackburn youth court was told the "victims" willingly took part. Now the Live Now Die Later website, based on MTV's controversial Jackass show, is now running again, despite police pleading with magistrates not to return the teenager's computer, which they had confiscated.

Officers have now launched an investigation into the "new" footage, which has appeared on the site since the court case in November.

The chairman of the bench which made the decision today said the youth had been given a second chance but now deserved to be punished if he had thrown that chance away.

Darwen MP Janet Anderson called for parents to take control of their children and said she would discuss getting the website closed down for good in Parliament "before more damage is done."

New footage of youngsters being set on fire and burnt, slapped, kicked in the groin and whipped can be viewed on the site under the slogan "Welcome back b***hes!"

Another clip shows a youth having his eyelids safety pinned shut and another is seen stapling the skin on his own hand.

Other youngsters are filmed drinking their own urine, vomiting, jumping from high buildings and moving cars, shoplifting and terrorising the owners of a Darwen Chinese takeaway.

Insp Andrea Bradbury from Darwen police said she had been "extremely disappointed" with the magistrates' decision and said the impact the website had on anti-social behaviour and crime in Darwen had been under-stated.

She said: "After the court case it all went quiet and the website was shut down.

"Now it is re-opened. We will investigate the new footage and where any offences have been committed we will take the appropriate action and pursue the offenders again.

"Despite police pleading to the magistrates not to do so, they returned his computer to him so he could do his college work.

"He convinced the court that he was remorseful but that clearly is not the case."

Mrs Anderson, said: "I fully share Inspector Bradbury's disappointment and concern at the magistrates' decision to exercise leniency and return the computer.

"Everyone in Darwen knows what these people have been up to over a number of years and it is quite disgraceful that they and indeed their parents have not been properly dealt with.

"I am pleased to learn the police are going to continue to monitor this website.

"In the meantime, I hope the parents of the youngsters involved will start to live up to their responsibilities as parents."

In April 2004, Joe Armstrong, 11, of Tunnel Street, Darwen, was left fighting for his life with serious burns after a fire-jumping stunt for the website went wrong.

Live Now Die Later has been running for over two years and the group has now grown to 30 youngsters.

During the ringleader's court case, chairman of the magistrates, Brian Topham, JP, said he could understand why he thought he had not done anything wrong.

When the prosecution intended applying for a criminal Anti-Social Behaviour Order he said: "My colleagues and I can't understand this at all."

Today he said: "He is a young man who assured us that he was remorseful and we decided to give him another chance.

"He assured us that he had given up filming for the Live Now Die Later site and was committed to his college course.

"If he has not taken this chance to redeem himself then he now has only himself to blame and the police were correct in criticising the magistrates' decision to give him a conditional discharge.

"If he has let us down then we have no sympathy for him. It would seem that he is throwing away the chance that we gave him."