Video shows young bodyboarder get punched by veteran surfer at beach

Thrashing waves sweeping one of the most popular surfing beaches in Gold Coast, Australia wasn’t the only thing that caught the eye of surfers yesterday, after a surf rage incident between two beachgoers ended violently.

Disturbing footage, posted by surfing magazine 18seconds, shows a young bodyboarder being repeatedly punched by an older surfer in what looks to be miles from the shoreline.

The uncalled-for altercation which reportedly occurred on the Gold Coast Superbank at Snapper Rocks, unfolded after both beachgoers went in on the same wave.

They were both wiped out in the barrel before resurfacing in a bitter confrontation.

Onlookers were quick to split up the pair after the veteran surfer was seen hitting the bodyboarder across the head several times.

One female witness is heard screaming “he’s a kid, dude,” while the surfer throws his hands in the air in frustration before the video ends.

“Some pumping waves today. Dust ups too,” 18seconds captioned alongside the video on Facebook. “We don’t condone violence. It’s never the answer.”

Within 24 hours of being posted, the footage has clocked up four thousand views and over 65 comments as debate swirls over who is to blame for the brutal attack.

“Punching a kid multiple times in the head because he drops in on you on a three foot wave is weak and embarrassing at best,” one Facebook user commented in defense of the bodyboarder.

“The grim did wrong but he could have just been yelled at instead,” said another.

Others said they would have filed “assault charges” against the surfer, stating he was at fault for taking the wave from the bodyboarder.

“Hero boardrider absolutely snaked the kid. Wasn’t his wave to start with,” one concerned viewer said.

Meanwhile others have blamed the bodyboarder for the “dust up,” as he didn’t respect the surfer’s space.

“Door mats drop in on purpose, thinking they can snake you off the wave, they do take their chances but in doing so must sometimes pay the price,” one comment read.

“A drop in has consequences. That’s why the GC is a cesspool,” said another Sydneysider.

Some viewers even had recommendations as to how they would have handled the situation better.

“You could have just dunked the kid instead of belting him,” one person said.

“A good old verbal barrage would have been enough. Even if the lidder was being lippy,” said another.

Queensland Police told news.com.au that there have been no reports of the incident.

It’s not uncommon to encounter surf rage at the jam-packed, tourist break, which offers one of the longest wave rides in the world.

In 2014, Gold Coast surfer Mark Morlock almost lost his sight after he was confronted by a surfer who he had accidentally “cut-off” on a wave five months earlier.

“I heard a voice behind me go ‘hey you’ and I’ve turned around and he goes ‘you remember me?’,” Morlock told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

The angered surfer then ploughed his board into Mr Morlock’s face in a cowardly attack which severely damaged his eye.

“Within six seconds of him announcing his presence, he’d done this horrible trick that only a surfer knows but one I thought would never happen to me. It was the most brutal, cowardly thing I’ve ever seen,” Morlock said.

Despite the extent of the assault, Morlock didn’t press charges.