A community leader who steers youngsters away from life in gangs says it's not just gang members who carry knives - it's the people who are frightened of them too.

Matt Simms runs the Unique Fitness Centre which is a kickboxing gym near Luton Arches in Chatham, so is very familiar with the area's reputation.

Listen to Matt talk about how boxing can break young people away from gangs on The KM Community Podcast

He says he worries about the shyer, quiet youngsters who might slip through the net as they could end up using a knife if pushed into a dangerous situation.

He added: "Then the individual who is actually a victim has become a person who is involved in knife crime and really had no intentions of being in a gang - they were just trying to defend themselves."

The boxing coach says this is a real flip side to the knife-wielding, gang member image.

In a previous interview, he spoke about how he uses the community he's built to guide trainees away from knife crime.

One of Unique Boxing's missions is to build the confidence in youngsters to handle a confrontation calmly as they learn to control their feelings with fellow team members.

To find out more about the good work that goes on at the gym, click here.

Read more: All the latest news from Medway

For more real life stories, click here