The media paints a bleak picture of life as a young person in London. Murder trials, postcode wars, shootings and stabbings have become daily fodder in our newspapers.

But hidden in the shadows of the young people who make the headlines for all the wrong reasons are others, like Kio McKnight, a 16-year-old from Tottenham who is sitting his GCSEs and hopes to study architecture after moving on to A-levels.

To let the world know he has had enough of the violence, Kio will begin a walk from Archway to Birmingham on August 26.

Accompanied by friends Shani Cadetti, 34, and Matthieu Milbourne, 23, they will trek more than 131 miles, the equivalent of five marathons, in what they call a walk of "hope, peace and dignity".

They want to highlight the social problems facing their community and show their eagerness to find a solution, as part of what they have dubbed the Steps To Atonement and Redemption (STAR) project.

Kio said: "Speaking as a teenager, gun and knife crime is something that affects my age group. It affects my neighbourhood. This walk is a way to show that, as a young person, I am concerned and am prepared to stand up and let people know that it needs to stop.

"We've already seen music videos promoting positive messages. Hopefully what we are going to do will really make people sit up and take notice."

The four-day pilgrimage will see the team walk more than 30 miles each day with no mobile phones or iPods to distract them.

Kio added: "It is a huge committment and is not going to be easy, but that is the whole reason for doing it. It's not meant to be easy. It's a sacrifice. But if I can walk from London to Birmingham on foot then other people my age involved with guns and knives can choose a new path for themselves.

"It's time to put down the knives and guns. You need to think about the affects of picking up a weapon - on your own life and other people's. It's not the right way."

The money the trio raise will be donated to the Boyhood to Manhood foundation, the Yaa Asantewaa Nanny Project, based in Birmingham, and the 100 Mothers Movement - charities which aim to give young people involved in gangs and street violence a positive sense of direction.

Last year, 26 teenagers were killed in London, nine in shootings, and 16 have lost their lives in street violence already this year.

m To pledge your support to the STAR project visit thestarproject.co.uk