Shot on Super 16mm, the film follows a young tearaway as he embarks on a violent and destructive tour of a sleepy rural village.

As villagers tuck in to their Sunday lunch, unaware of his crime spree, the boy's opportunism leads him out of the village to the meticulous home of a single man, where he stumbles on a terrifying secret.

Director Leon Chambers says: 'I had thought about making a film about a child criminal for some time, based on a friend's short story.

'I then came up with the idea of putting a feral child, a boy with no morals, who is capable of robbing an elderly woman, in a situation where he discovers something that is so extreme that even he feels a line has been crossed.

'I wanted to tell this story from the boy's point of view, so the audience joined him on his destructive tour of the village and the house. And I wanted the story to be told as much as possible through pictures so that any dialogue would be incidental.'

Stolen Youth has been screened at 22 film festivals this year and has received a number of nominations, including Best Short at the California Independent Film Festival and Official Selection at the following International Film Festivals: Palm Springs, AFI Dallas, Raindance and Huesca. It also won Best UK Short at the Canary Wharf Film Festival.

Leon has been a busy man. He took the film to Luton the day before The Guide Awards, Ireland two days before that and, in December, it is being screened at the Bahamas International Film Festival, which Leon is sad to say he can not attend.

Stolen Youth producer Gary Rowland, from Lee-on-the-Solent, collected the award with Leon. He says: 'Leon is a lifelong buddy and I'm tremendously excited for the both of us. It has been hard work and it is great to get recognition for that.

'I think the Guide Awards are fantastic. Both Leon and I were delighted by the award and it was great to join so many other locals in celebrating the talent that clearly exists in this area.

'We only wish we could have stayed for the after-show party!'

Runner-up: Guilty. The runner-up award in this category was collected by producer Stephanie Adkins on behalf of the director Russell Oastler, who was filming at the time.

Russell, who is 27 and studying a BA Hons in Film and Television at the University of Portsmouth, says: 'It's a tremendous honour to be given this award.

'The film is about me dealing with the loss of my grandfather. I took a video of him shortly before he died and I was wrestling with my conscience about whether it was right to use that. The film not only explores the concept of loss, but also the moral obligations of the filmaker.'