PARENTS should check their child’s bags “and pat them down” before they go out in the fight against gang culture and crime, campaigners say.

The calls for action come after Essex Police revealed 15 teenagers from two gangs - the Leigh Lot and the O Block - were linked to drug dealing, violence and anti-social behaviour.

The gangs have now been banned from entering parts of Southend, Rayleigh and Leigh.

Police are also probing the gangs’ 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.

Now, campaigners and councillors insist parents need to be more aware of their children’s whereabouts and activities to help stop them being lured down the wrong path.

Former boxer Mac Pemhiwa, 31, co-founder of Young Lives Matter, said parents need to be educated on the gang culture and aware of the signs.

His group was set up to raise awareness of knife crime and help young people to feel safer on the streets.

Mr Penhiwa said: “I think parents need to check kids for knives and check their bags and pat them down before they leave the house.

“Most kids I speak with tell me they carry a knife out of fear of being stabbed themselves.

“I think we need to see people who have been through this go into schools and speak to these youngsters to raise awareness and get the message over.

“Parents also need to be educated about what’s happening on the streets and what their kids are into. Things like drill music which glorifies stabbing and gang culture.

“There’s a kind of secret language for these gangs and members and the parents need to be aware of this all.”

He said signs to look out for are behaviour, the sort of people children they are spending time with.

Martin Terry, Independent Southend councillor responsible for community safety said parents need to be taking far more responsibility.

He said: “I think this is an area that needs to be explored far more.

“All parents need to be acting as role models for their children and they need to be responsible for asking where their children are.

“They should also be telling their youngsters they should not be going to places like Old Leigh.

“I think the parental responsibility is a big part of the root of the cause of these problems.”

The senior councillor said some young people do not know where the boundaries are in terms of their behaviour.

He called for more respect from young people and parents to watch their children more closely.