A WALTHAMSTOW man walked from London to Birmingham to help stop knife and gun crime.

Shani Cadette is one of three men who completed the 131 mile trek - the equivalent of five marathons over four days last week.

Banded together under The Star Project, which stands for Steps to Atonement and Redemption, they aim to raise £2,000 for three community projects which work in London and Birmingham, including Waltham Forest.

They aim to educate young people so they grow up with a sense of responsibility and self-determination.

Mr Cadette, 34, an IT consultant, said: “The future of our youth is very important and we have to build a future for them. You can see their minds are not engaged in their own futures, they are too busy killing themselves and hating each other.”

Speaking on the second day of his walk, Mr Cadette, of Hibbert Road, said the first day, where the three walked from 8am to 6.30pm, had been “extremely difficult” but he felt he had to do something.

Mr Cadette and his fellow walkers, GCSE student Kio McKnight, 16, and degree student Mathieu Milbourne, 23, also hope they will provide good male role models where often the lack of a father figure is crucial in children going off the rails.

They set off just two days after teenager CJ Hendricks was stabbed to death in Walthamstow.

Mr Cadette said: “I couldn’t believe it. It was supposed to be a good weekend with the Olympics coming to Walthamstow but we had this tragedy.

“It just goes to show that this thing is really, really out of control. We need to do something about this.”

For more information and to support the walkers visit thestarproject.co.uk.