'Hopelessness' leads to knife crime

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As the Government prepares to announce new measures targeting knife crime, youth workers warned the problem will only be fixed by tackling the root causes.

The Bite the Bullet conference in Brixton, south London, was taking place two days after a spate of stabbings in the capital left four men dead in less than 24 hours.

One of the victims has been named as 18-year-old Melvin Bryan. The teenager received fatal wounds to his neck and chest during a confrontation at a bedsit in Gloucester Road, Edmonton, on Thursday.

His death took the number of teenagers to die violently in the capital since the beginning of the year to 20.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has described the stabbings as "shocking and tragic", while Scotland Yard boss Sir Ian Blair warned there were no quick fixes.

Speaking at the conference in Brixton Baptist Church, the Rev Les Isaac said many young people felt they were "victims of their own circumstances".

He said youngsters were beset by family and community breakdown, negative peer pressure and an education system which failed to provide many students with the right opportunities.

Rev Isaac, of the Ascension Trust, which sends "street pastors" out on to the streets to work with young offenders, said: "Young people are angry. They are confused. They feel a tremendous sense of hopelessness.

"If we could go out and say to young people, 'you are worth something, we love you, we want to help', young people will look at their lifestyle and begin to rethink what they are doing."