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Now a pioneering scheme is being launched across the borough, to try to tackle the problem.

The “Urban Art Project” aims to channel young people’s energy positively by giving them designated walls on which to paint their designs.

After-school clubs are set up to encourage teens to keep off the streets. They’re then asked to develop art based around a particular theme.

For example, to get them to think about their local environment, they were given the theme “cleaner, greener and safer”.

This then formed the basis of their art, with the best designs being displayed on council vehicles.

The council says the pilot at Goresbrook Park has already been successful in getting kids who had anti-social behavioural orders to stay out of trouble.

They now want to roll the scheme out in all parts of the borough.

Cllr Val Rush said: “The incident … in which two young men … were tragically killed�� highlights how important and dangerous an issue this can become.”

She continued: “Projects like this are essential in changing the way young people behave … It’s one of the many tools we are using to tackle the problem of graffiti and anti social behaviour as it gives young people a chance to get involved in something that encourages them to keep off the streets.”

Kate Gray, the woman behind the scheme, says young people told her they just wanted somewhere to go where they could express themselves in a safe environment.

She says it’s helped them change their lives. And the teens agree.

Fifteen-year-old Ronnie Derbridge, who knew the boys that died, told ���˿��� London’s Lebo Diseko that if they had been involved with a project, it might have encouraged them to stay off the railway tracks, and saved their lives:

“If [instead or risking their lives [they] could’ve come here … everything would be alright.”