THE Met's air support unit are the latest people to lend a hand to an anti-violence campaign started at a Lewisham school.

Thought up by Prendergast Ladywell Fields College pupil Camilla Yahaya, 10,000 Hands aims to get purple hand prints from schools, businesses, politicians, police, community figures and other organisations in a show of support to safeguard young people and work for peace.

Pupils took the peace cloth to the Air Support Unit's base at Lippits Hill earlier this month where the crews, engineers and control room staff added their prints.

The cloth is now one mile long, and Camilla's new target is 100,000 hands.

She said: "Since we began the 10,000 Hands campaign Lewisham police have always been there for us and we are so pleased that the Air Support Unit have added their handprints supporting our schools as we work together to build safer communities."

PC Ian Miller said: "We are delighted to be the latest people to have had our handprints added to the cloth. This is such a worthwhile campaign and its so important to engage and work with young people and its so encouraging to see that there are so many young people doing good work in their local communities and want to make a positive difference."

The campaign came out of the City Safe Havens project in which shopkeepers display a sticker in their window to show they take a zero-tolerance approach to crime and illegal activity.

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