Former boxing champ Chris Eubank has tried to ban his teenage son from playing rugby - because he thinks the sport is too violent.

The ex-world champion, who lives in Hove, believes a rugby pitch is a far more dangerous place than a boxing ring.

He has tried to bar 13-year-old Christopher from playing the game at school in case he gets hurt.

Eubank said: "Rugby is the most vicious sport on God's earth. I don't want my children playing it.

"Whenever I attend the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, the England rugby team are there and they always look more beaten up and cut up than I ever was in my fights."

Eubank's wife Karron has insisted Christopher be allowed to play the same sports as his schoolmates.

But the boxer said: "It's so dangerous, one day my son could come home with a broken jaw.

"I would much rather he played something gentle, like football or cricket."

The eccentric star and his family are set to star in a new reality TV series, At Home With The Eubanks, on Five next month.