A NEW film by young people from Blackbird Leys has revealed the real impact of knife crime.

Flesh and Blood was created by teenagers from the Blackbird Leys Youth Centre in Oxford and is set to be shown at youth centres and schools across the county.

It had a big screen première last week at the Vue cinema, Oxford.

The 15-minute film tells the story of siblings Maria and John, whose lives are changed forever by knife crime.

They were played by real life brother and sister Unique and Kofie John-Welch.

Miss John-Welch, 18, from Druce Way, said: “It was great to be involved.

“ I think it will make a difference because it was filmed in this area.

“Usually in school, you get shown films set in London and you don’t relate to it.

“But kids will be able to watch this and think ‘I know this place’. There’s a big problem with knives here at the moment.”

The music for the film was also written by young people from Blackbird Leys, including Welcome to HMP by rappers Skye and Yanks.

Skye – 22-year-old Jacob Chambers – said: “I’ve been in prison for knife offences, I’ve been down that road, so it’s about describing how it is on the streets.”

Mr Chambers was sent to prison twice, once at the age of 18, for robbery and aggravated burglary. He said: “I want to tell people how awful it is. You have to eat off a plastic plate, you have to eat your meal while your cellmate goes to the toilet. People don’t think about those things.

“I can’t tell them not to use knives because I’d be a hypocrite, but I can show them what the consequences are.”

Det Insp Simon Morton, from Oxford police’s CID, said: “The film is brilliant. I have probably dealt with every violent crime and murder in the city and each one of those does burn into your soul.

“It’s this stuff shown in the film, the stuff that hurts, that will make you think about picking up that knife.”

The film was funded by the youth centre.