Ex-gang member turns life around after friend ‘died in his arms’

Meet the ex-gang member who turned his life around after a friend 'died in his arms' - and now runs anti-knife crime campaigns.

Carl Scott, 42, decided it was time to get on the straight and narrow after 22 years of drug and burglary-related crimes.

Carl had led a "pure dysfunctional lifestyle" - which saw him stabbed in the leg, watch his friend get stabbed to death and spend multiple years in prison.

Carl left prison for the last time in 2013 and knew he wanted to make a change after meeting his partner, Karla, 32, co-owner of the Youth Project.

He began volunteering at a local drug and alcohol addiction service before he was offered a role as a coordinator four months later.

He also began helping police - who were looking for ex-gang members to lead talks to encourage others to take a different path.

Carl then went on to work at a youth project for the next two years in which he says he helped 77 people move away from knife crime and county lines.

After gaining valuable experience, Carl and Karla decided to set up Project Youth and they now run workshops in schools, install bleed control cabinets around Sussex and do one-to-one mentoring.

Carl, from Hastings, Sussex, said: "I've led let's say 22 years of just pure dysfunctional lifestyle, doing as I please.

"Karla was the only one making me see sense, showing me love and affection.

"I was in and out of prison and I had a heart of rock, I didn't like anyone, I hated the world.

"I wouldn't have been able to do anything without Karla.

"She's helped me understand the way of life and how to treat people and be a good dad and a family man."

Carl's life of crime began when he was just 13 years old.

He said: "I was holding onto drugs a lot and delivering drugs to people.

"£20 to a kid is a lot of money if you're not getting any money at home.

"Nicking car stereos - back in the 90s car stereos you used to be able to get quite a bit of money for them.

"The police did a covert investigation and caught me and my fried in the act nicking stereos and that's when my parents found out what I was up to.

"My parents went absolutely mad but I just got so much excitement out of what I was doing - I wasn't scared of anything or anyone.

"I started robbing people in the street for money and baseball caps.

"We had a scrap with a kid and we robbed him and the police came and arrested me at 5am for robbery and affray.

"I got community service and a big fine."

Carl says things only got worse from there.

He said: "The dealing got worse.

"I'd left home and just before I was 15 my parents broke up and I lived in a local authority hostel and then I was out on the streets a lot more."

Carl started to realize it wasn't the life he wanted when his friend died in front of him.

He said: "When I turned 16, a friend of mine was wrapped up with this gang.

"My pal froze as we were run up on and this other guy ran up and stabbed him in the chest.

"Once they ran off, I ran up to Leighton and I picked up and he died in my arms - a stab wound to the heart.

"I always said I'd name my son after him, and I did.

"Two weeks after that I had a scrap with a lad from a different estate and got stabbed in the thigh with a carving knife."

Carl's last sentence was in 2011 when he was locked up for two years for intent to supply.

Following his release, Carl continued to be in and out of gang life until 2016, when he suffered a liver disease and decided enough was enough.

He said: "The way that the sun shone for me was in 2017.

"I had a massive breakdown in 2016 after a liver disease and I was taking so much medication to try and deal with all the pain - I was mentally unstable.

"I tried to take my own life three times and Karla having to see all that it was really distressing.

"I managed to conquer it and I put a stop on taking any drugs and for the first time I tried to live like a normal civilian - stepping away from any gangs or crimes for good."

After working a number of volunteering roles helping young people turn their back on crime, Carl and Karla launched their own business.

He said: "We launched Project Youth in April 2023.

"We added the bleed control kit scheme - installing bleed kits across the county and in London.

"I've already engaged with 165 professionals that we've trained on bleed control up and down the country.

"We've successfully installed 17 bleed control cabinets across Sussex and two at London Bridge which we found out the other day one was used to save someone's life.

"When I'm around these families that have lost loved ones to knife crime it makes me think about why I used to carry a knife - why did I do that?

"So that's what makes us do this."