An ex-gang member and the mother of a young man who was stabbed to death have spoken to school pupils to warn them about the dangers of getting involved in crime.

Glenda Crittenden's son Tom was killed with a single stab to the chest five years ago while Francis Osei-Appiah found himself jailed for more than 16 years while he was still a teenager.

Working with Kent Police, the pair visited St Augustine Academy, in Oakwood Road, yesterday with officers from the force's Maidstone Community Safety Unit.

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Mrs Crittenden spoke about the loss of her son, Tom Crittenden, nearly five years ago.

He died in Sutton Road, Maidstone, on September 25, 2011 aged 21.

His grieving mum told pupils about the terrible impact a momentary decision to use a knife can have.

She said: "The devastation for families that have lost a child is devastating; the ripple effects reach out far. It destroys families. You live it every day.

"I have found these talks have really hit home. When I told the children about the knock on the door that every parent dreads they seemed to suddenly realise the reality."

Mr Osei-Appiah fell into gang-related crime while at school in Tottenham and by the age of 19 he had been sentenced to 16 years and eight months in jail for kidnap.

He served more than eight and a half years and while inside he completed a degree in health and social care before setting up the Reform Restore Respect charity. (RRR)

He said: "Quite often I am telling the children what their parents have told them, what their teachers have told them, what the police have told them – I have lived it and I hope this helps get the message across.

"Prison is not a nice environment to be in and a life of crime is not rewarding. It’s not the way you should choose to live your life.

"If I can get through to just one of the kids and stop them joining a gang then I have done my job."

In May similar talks were given at New Line Learning Academy in Boughton Lane, Loose, and Maidstone and Malling Alternative Curriculum Pupils Referral Unit in Palace Avenue, Maidstone.

Sergeant Paul Hughes, from Kent Police’s Community Safety Unit Maidstone, said: "We want these pupils to understand that carrying a knife, or any kind of offensive weapon, will never make you or the people around you safer.

"The consequences of carrying these weapons can be severe; lives can be ended, families torn apart and communities divided because of one person’s decision to carry a blade.

"Mr Osei-Appiah and Mrs Crittenden have done a brilliant job in getting this message across."