Footballers make knife-crime plea

Beckham, Rio Ferdinand and David James spoke to launch an anti-knife campaign called It Doesn't Have to Happen.

Beckham said: "We can help people, we can help youngsters, because we've got a voice that kids listen to."

The government says more than 2,500 arrests have been made and 1,600 knives have been seized since June under its action plan to tackle knife crime.

David Beckham told the news conference at the team hotel he had experience of knife crime.

His best friend's brother had been due to sign a contract with Leyton Orient when he was stabbed aged 13.

Beckham said: "One day he was walking the streets, saw a fight, went over to help, got stabbed in the back and was paralysed.
"No one wants to see the devastation I saw my friend and his family go through. We have to lend our support to this campaign."

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand attended the same school as murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

"I will never forget when the headmaster brought the school to a halt and said he had been killed. There was a sombre and chilling atmosphere.

"One day the guy was enjoying life and talking about his A-levels and the next day he was gone. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He said getting tough on knife crime would help, but there also needed to be schemes to keep young people busy.

"Communities and youth centres also need to play a bigger part. Boredom can set in a lot of times, there is a lot of peer pressure and then something happens that everyone regrets," he added.