As violent crimes and gangs continue to plague south Essex, a former teenage gang member has spoken out on going from a street dealer to a confident rugby player.

The teenager is urging others to seek help and escape from gang culture after he was left feeling like he had no way out and “just wanted to feel happy again”.

Alex, not his real name, was initially enticed by a gang into storing cannabis and selling it on the streets after he lost someone close to him.

He is sharing his story after Essex police secured an injunction against 15 teenagers from two gangs - the Leigh lot and O Block.

The two gangs are believed to be linked to drug dealing, violence and anti-social behaviour, as well as two murders.

Alex was initially drawn into the gang after he was offered drugs for free and was then offered more if he agreed to keep drugs in his home which he shared with his parents.

However, the situation deteriorated when he lost some drugs and he became a runner for them but “felt like they didn’t care about him”.

He said: “I was then in debt to them and eventually did not have a way out. I had to keep things with me and do drop offs.

“I would get phone calls and had to leave my house to give drugs to people waiting for the delivery.

“Sometimes I was asked to go with some of the gang to go after people on a few occasions.

“I later understood that they didn’t care about me; when someone punched me in the street, they just laughed and didn’t stand up for me.”

Eventually, he sought help from the police and Southend Council workers to find ways to escape the gang.

Alex continued: “The turning point was when I saw my parents crying because they didn’t know what to do. I decided I wanted to get out of this life but didn’t know what to do.

“I just wanted my normal life back and feel happy again.

Patrols - Police in Chalkwell and Old Leigh after gang activity

Patrols - Police in Chalkwell and Old Leigh after gang activity

“I never felt Essex Police was a threat to me. When I was stopped and searched, they would take my cannabis but would talk to me and give me advice.

“I always felt there was an open door there and that I could talk to them.”

In relation to the two south Essex gangs, the force are probing potential links to the murder of Lee Chapman in Southend in March 2020, the murder of Luke Bellfield in Leigh in February this year, as well as a disturbance in Southend in August 2020 where a man died and another suffered life-changing injuries.

Numerous dispersal orders have been put in place in Old Leigh, while gang members have been barred from areas of Southend, Rayleigh, Leigh and Chalkwell.

The Echo, Essex police and Southend Council have previously teamed up for the See the Signs campaign, aiming to fight against drug gangs coming to the borough from outside Essex.

The campaign highlights how many Southend children are regularly targeted and forced to move drugs and money around the borough and into London.

Alex added: “When I was in my worst moments, I always had my social worker and support worker.

“If I called them on weekends or at night, they always picked my calls - they told me what to do when I didn’t know how to get out.

“I am much happier than before.

“I am fully into rugby, working, I have left drugs and have new mates.

“My parents are happy, and we feel like a family again. My support worker always told me to never stop wanting more for my life. I am doing that, training harder, working harder, and wanting more for my life and for my family.”

Speaking directly to youngsters impacted, he said: “I would tell them if they are inside a gang, and don’t know how to get out, to trust the people from Southend Council’s Adolescent Prevention and Intervention Team because they will help you and tell you what to do.

“Even if they don’t trust the police, they are there to help you not to punish you. If it worked for me, it will work for them too.”

Visit www.seethesigns.org.uk.