A Croydon rapper who was friends with three of the killers of Shakilus Townsend is using music to help young people avoid a life of crime.

MOBO award nominee Faith Child is visiting schools in Croydon and Sutton in a bid to use his influence as a upcoming musician, to help and inspire young people.

Faith Child real name Michael Ayo, lives in Thornton Heath and works in a school for pupils who have been excluded or are at risk of exclusion.

The 23-year-old believes young people need positive role models and hopes through music, they can engage with learning again.

He also runs personal skills sessions, during which he talks to students about self-development and how they can better themselves, using his own experiences.

The singer went to school with three of the youths convicted of killing 16-year-old Shakilus of Tanners Hill, Deptford, in a honey trap plot in Thornton Heath.

The murder was recently made into a docu-film entitled 'My Murder,' which he encouraged his students to watch.

He said of the programme: "A lot of my students knew the killers as well, the story wasn't new to them as it was so close to home.

"The positive of that show was it hit home for a lot students in my school that it easily could have involved them.

"I was saying to them look at this, it's not just about you. It is the whole family, the whole family is in the public eye.

"If you respect your mothers and family, you would think twice. It's about teaching them morals, which makes them wise.

"Kids are more likely to listen to public figures than their parents, so I use my influence to steer them on to the right path and do the right thing,"

To find out more about Faith Child's work visit faithchildmusic.com.