REALITY bites, and when it does it can mess up your dreams, so the only thing to do is to turn around and bite back.

That's the philosophy of Leytonstone actress/rapper Peaches, who is about to launch her own performing arts company - Reality Bytes.

Peaches, a confident 27-year-old, sees her venture as a way of providing young people with a chance to fulfil their dreams while keeping their feet firmly on the ground.

"Reality Bytes will tap into their psyche," says Peaches. "Everyone has dreams, the secret is to have a plan of action and act upon it.

"It's not just about giving young people a grounding in the performing arts, it's providing them with opportunity and guidance and giving young people a voice."

Peaches, of Bulwer Road, knows how easy it is for a youngsters to go astray. She spent 1998 to 2000 in prison.

"Without going into too much detail, I was convicted of a robbery I didn't do and of fraud and deception which I did," she said.

"I come from a middle-class family and, before prison, I thought no-one knew anything and nobody understood me, and I rebelled. The time inside made me take a good look at myself."

Peaches took a drama course in prison and became involved in a video highlighting the traumas of prison life. The video was distributed to schools nationally.

Peaches says she is driven by a passion to perform and hopes to use Reality Bytes to motivate youngsters to believe in themselves and their abilities.

"There is so much bad in this world, it seems that so many parts of London want to fight each other.

"I would like to take Reality Bytes workshops into schools in the borough and hope that by doing so it will give young people hope and go some way towards bringing communities together to act as an antidote," she said.

Reality Bytes will be launched at the Theatre Royal, Stratford on April 3.

For further information email Peaches on Realitybytes@ uk-flava.co.uk