Thugs pulled two men's trousers down and poured boiling water over them in the most brutal case of torture Brighton police say they have seen.

The two victims were also pistol-whipped and a woman who walked in on the scene, in a city centre house, was grabbed and tied up.

She later told police it had been like a scene from the gangster movie Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.

The men, both in their 20s, were repeatedly pistol whipped and tortured in an ordeal that lasted more than three hours.

Neighbours returning home heard the victims' screams and called the police but the offenders escaped.

Acting Detective Sergeant Robbie Fuller, of Brighton police, said: "It was horrific. I have never seen anything like it in the 27 years I have been in the service."

One victim was treated for burns and cuts and allowed home but the second is still in the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, with burns and a serious fracture of the skull. Police are waiting to interview him.

Detective Inspector Bill Warner, who is leading the inquiry, said nothing in the house was stolen. He added: "We are still trying to establish what the motive was."

One of the victims was in the house, in Portland Street, off North Street, Brighton, early on Sunday when the attackers burst in through an insecure door.

The second, accompanied by another man and the woman, arrived later.

The third man was tied up in the kitchen when the two victims were attacked.

One was forced to lie on a sofa and the other on the floor of the lounge. The offenders then pulled down their victims' trousers and poured boiling water on them.

The 22-year-old woman was tied to a chair and forced to keep her head down so she would not see the offenders' faces. Mr Fuller said: "She was unhurt but is extremely traumatised by the incident."

Mr Warner appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to contact Brighton CID on 0845 6070999.