An anti-knife crime movement has been launched with help from celebrity Londoners.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, with help from rapper Yungen, spoken word poet Hussain Manawar, actress Brooke Kinsella and photographer Tom Sloan, among others, has launched an anti-knife crime campaign aimed at preventing the crimes in young people.

The London Needs You Alive campaign, which includes a video shared on social media, puts forward a positive message to try to ask young Londoners to make an active choice not to carry a knife and that by using their talent, they can accomplish great things.

Mayor Khan said: "There is an old proverb which says it takes a village to raise a child. That means the whole community – parents, families, teachers, schools, youth clubs or social workers – playing its part and I am proud to have the support of so many talented and influential role models in launching this new campaign.

"These people have used their talent to achieve great things and realise their potential. Now they are helping to ensure the next generation can do the same.

"We can’t solve the problem by police enforcement alone, we need to get the message across that our young Londoners are too valuable to risk their lives by carrying a knife. They are our future musicians, artists, sportsmen and women, comedians, scientists, politicians, entrepreneurs and role models.

"We need them."

The campaign will also involve an education toolkit for teaching in schools.

Other celebrity influencers getting involved include The Slumflower, aka Chidera Eggerue, a radio personality and blogger, grime MC Bossman Birdie, and Yvonne Lawson, who lost her son Godwin to a knife attack in 2010.

Poet Hussain Manawer said: "I've known young people who have been stabbed and unfortunately, someone who was killed due to knife crime so this topic is close to my heart. Campaigns such as London Needs You Alive give visibility to something that can break families and tear apart societies.

"By championing such an important initiative, I truly believe for the first time in a long time a leader such as Sadiq Khan can begin to drive both awareness and build solutions."

Knife crime has been rising across the country and in London since 2014, and in 2016 knife crime rose 14 per cent across England and Wales.

Around 40 Londoners under the age of 25 were killed through knife crime this year.