A schoolboy from Earlsfield is helping lead a campaign to give Wandsworth’s youth a voice with those in power.

Aaron Stead, 15, is fed up with negative stereotyping of teenagers and wants people of his age to have a say on decisions made by the council and other local organisations.

One of his prime concerns is youth-on-youth crime, which he feels is not being taken seriously enough and wants patrols increased in school areas.

The Graveney School student teamed up with 14-year-old Flora Clarke from Burntwood School to organise a petition demanding a youth forum and together they collected 205 signatures.

He said: “Quite a lot of decisions made affect young people around here, but most have no input by those young people.

"I thought this would be an opportunity to have our voices heard.

“It would be a panel set up by young people which would be consulted on decisions that affect kids and teenagers in Wandsworth.”

The project was coordinated by Mark Clarke, Tory parliamentary candidate for Tooting, and the petition got a warm reception when it was presented to the council this month.

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