Leona: My friends have been shot, stabbed or beaten up ... it's part of being young in London

The 22-year-old from Hackney said the majority of her friends were victims of shootings, knife attacks or assaults.

In an interview for next month's edition of Cosmopolitan, the chart-topping artist said: "Most of my friends have been shot, stabbed or beaten up.

"Not so much the girls but the guys. All my friends have been in trouble. It's part of being young in London."

In November Lewiswas reported to be "devastated" by the death of 17-year-old Etem Celebi, who was shot a few streets away from the Stoke Newington address where she grew up.

The murdered teenager had played football with her childhood sweetheart and current boyfriend, electrician Lou Al-Chamaa.

Lewis said: "My heart goes out to his family. He was way too young. It makes you take stock and realise you can't take anything for granted. You have to appreciate life."

She added it was only her dream of becoming a pop star that kept her out of trouble and away from the temptations that many inner city youths succumb to. She also paid tribute to the guidance of her parents, Joe, 47, a youth worker and Marie, 43, a social worker.

"I always had a goal, which kept me off the streets, " she said. "I didn't get involved in trouble because I was focused on singing.

"My parents had rules like when it was dark they wanted me home. They didn't need to tell me twice."

Lewis's interview comes as a record number of teenagers have been murdered in London. Last year 27 were killed in stabbings and shootings, many gang-related. The Crown Prosecution Service figures for the capital point to a sharp increase in the number of killings, burglaries and attacks committed last year by offenders aged 17 or under.

Convictions for robbery leaped the most, up by 43 per cent. Overall, the statistics show there were 14,904 juvenile convictions last year, an increase of 19 per cent on 2006.

Although prosecutors say the increase has been partly driven by efforts to bring more cases to court, the leap in convictions has fuelled concern about growing youth crime in London.

Despite priding herself on her hardworking and clean-living lifestyle, Lewis's family has been tainted by crime. Her uncle Dorian served eight years in prison for robbery and at the age of 14 her cousin, Adrian Henry, led a gang which raped an Austrian tourist and threw her into a canal.

The former pizza hut waitress, whose single Bleeding Love was a Number One hit around the world, also revealed she does not drink alcohol.

She said: "I don't drink. I hate the taste of alcohol. When my single went to Number One last year I celebrated with non-alcoholic champagne."

Since winning the third series of X Factor in 2006 Lewis has continued to live in Hackney with her boyfriend.