A teenager who set up a racist website, which asked people to pledge they had never followed Judaism, is believed to be the youngest person prosecuted for inciting racial hatred.

The 17-year-old from north Norfolk set up his own website where visitors had to pledge they “have never been a follower of the Jewish religion”.

He also asked visitors to affirm they were white and they “believe in the segregation of the races and have never engaged in an inter-racial relationship.”

The youth, who was arrested when he was 15, pleaded guilty at Kings Lynn Youth Court, and could be sentenced to up to two years detention.

The conviction centred on racist videos which the youth posted on YouTube and on social networking sites, including one depicting the torture and lynching of a black man by the Ku Klux Klan.

Prosecution lawyer Viv Goddard said: “This is thought to be the first time the CPS has prosecuted someone in England and Wales as young as this defendant for incitement to racial hatred after posting racially inflammatory material on a social networking site.

“Young people need to realise that it is not a joke to post hate-filled material on video-sharing websites, or sites they set up themselves.”