Gang member at 10 and a killer at 15

Adam Eastmond, 18, has just been released from jail after serving only 18 months for the horrific playground attack.

He was 15 when he stabbed Gavin Brown, 17, with an eight-inch Rambo-style knife in front of 50 children at a play area in south London in October 2005.

Today Eastmond told how he became a gang member at the age of 10, carrying a knife by 14, and killing by 15.

He revealed how children as young as 13 carried guns and how even 10-year-olds were becoming heavily involved in gangs. He warned that things would get worse before they got better.

He also said that he could not apologise to Gavin's mother because it would not bring back her son.

Eastmond joined his first gang in Brixton, but later moved to Croydon, where he said gangs used violence and recruited outside school gates.

He admitted he was wrong to carry the weapon but claimed he bought it because it made him feel safe.

He said: "I had joined D2M - the youth branch of Croydon gang Don't Say Nothing - and got into some trouble with a guy from our arch rivals Gipset. I became paranoid and thought I was in serious danger. I went to the [black] market and bought the blade for £10.

"It made me feel safe. I never took the knife in to school but I carried it whenever I went out at night."

He said he stabbed Gavin after being attacked by a gang of 10 after an argument broke out.

"I struck him in the chest, and then I landed the fatal blow in his neck. I ran off but his friend chased after me, and I was arrested later that night."

Gavin, of Westgate Road, South Norwood, died after both his carotid artery and jugular vein were severed. Eastmond claimed self-defence over the attack in Parkfield Recreational Ground, Shirley, and was found guilty of manslaughter.

He said: "My whole life changed. I had killed a boy and I was going to serve a long time in prison.

"Maybe 18 months doesn't sound a lot to people on the outside, but I lost my friends, my childhood and my freedom. Worse still, I had robbed a mum of her son.

"I don't believe in regrets and I won't turn to Gavin's mum and say I'm sorry, because nothing can bring him back."

Eastmond today warned "things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better", but said he thought that targeting young gang members is the key to stopping knife crime.

He said: "It's still possible to turn around 14 and 15-year-olds who think carrying knives is cool. You won't get through to the older members, because they've gone too far.

"Stabbings are on the increase because youngsters want to prove themselves to their elders and the older ones don't value life. They are angry, bored and frustrated.

"They'll strike out if you look at them the wrong way and they'll even hurt someone in their crew."

Since his release on 23 June Eastmond, formerly of Greencourt Avenue, Shirley, has relocated to another part of the UK where he lives with his parents and studies music technology.

He is banned from entering Croydon until 2010 but hopes that those he has left behind who are still in the area's gangs will learn from his mistakes.

He said: "To anyone who's prepared to listen, look at me. Look how it's ruined my life. Carrying knives isn't big and it doesn't solve problems, it just creates them."