STAFF and pupils at the school attended by a teenager fatally stabbed in Southampton have joined the Daily Echo in taking a stand against knife crime.

Teachers at Woolston School Language College have thrown their weight behind our campaign to get blades off the streets after Lewis Singleton died a few weeks ago.

Posters raising awareness of the dangers of carrying knives - and where you can hand them in or who you can speak to - have been placed in every classroom at the Porchester Road school where Lewis was a pupil between 1999 and 2004.

Staff are also planning a week of special assemblies and tutorials dedicated to highlighting the problems and the potential tragedies that can come from carrying a weapon.

Lewis died in March after being stabbed during a disturbance in Obelisk Road, Woolston.

Members of his family and friends helped launch the Daily Echo campaign which has since been backed by politicians, hospital staff, paramedics and the family of Totton teenager Dele Little, who also died recently after being stabbed.

The college, which has been recommended for closure under a shake-up of secondary school education in the city, is the first to put up the Daily Echo posters which also contain phone numbers for the police and Crimestoppers.

Deputy head Bernadette Hanly said: "Lewis was a lively, bubbly boy who was extremely popular with his fellow students.

"He was helpful to staff as well as always being ready to listen to and help others of his age and younger.

"His tutor remembers him from Year 11 as an average 16-year-old with a lot of fun in him'. He was keen on sport, particularly football, and played for a school team.

"The community of Woolston School Language College mourns the loss of a young man with the potential of Lewis and our deepest sympathies go out to his family at this time.

"We send our students out into the world with high hopes of what they will achieve in life and it is extremely sad that Lewis will not have the chance to achieve the ambitions that he clearly had."

Adding support to the campaign, Ms Hanly added: "Woolston School Language College fully supports the Daily Echo's campaign to put a stop to the tragedies that are occurring as a result of the use of knives among young people.

"We will work hard with our students to make them understand the dangers of such a culture taking root in our streets."

If your school would like posters to be delivered and would like to join the Daily Echo campaign, contact Jenny Makin on 023 8042 4520 or e-mail jenny.makin@dailyecho.co.uk.