Shocked neighbours of two boys who were left with serious injuries following a savage attack said they were normal, football-loving youngsters.
Local people spoke of their disbelief as police continued to question two other children, aged 10 and 11, in connection with the incident at Edlington, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
The most seriously injured boy, who is 11, was found semi-conscious at the bottom of a wooded ravine on Saturday.
His companion, nine, was found wandering along a street "dazed" and covered in blood, witnesses said.
Police stopped two boys near the scene in Edlington, South Yorkshire. They are being questioned by officers.
The more seriously hurt boy was airlifted to Sheffield Children's Hospital where his condition was described as critical but stable. On Sunday night he was showing signs of improvement and had been taken off a ventilator.
Police were called at around 2.20pm on Saturday after the youngest boy was found in Auburn Road by a member of the public. He was taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary and had surgery on a severe cut to his arm.
One woman, who did not want to be named, said the boy's parents were in a state of shock. She said the two boys were always together.
"They both play football. They're always out here. They're always together," she said. She said the boy who lived a few doors away was a normal boy of his age.
The younger boy's mother is the elder boy's sister, local people said. Their mother died about 10 years ago and the elder boy lives a few streets away with his father and his partner.
