A world heavyweight boxing champion is making a direct appeal to young people not to carry knives.

Anthony Joshua is backing Leicestershire Police’s #LivesNotKnives campaign with a short film where he tells his fans he made a choice to pursue a life of sport over a life of crime.

In the film, the 27-year-old makes a direct appeal to the youth of the county, including North West Leicestershire, not to carry a knife.

He said: “You know who I am, where I have come from and what I am about. Make the right choices, stay focused and live life to the fullest. Knives are taking lives and I want people to make the right choices.

“Be wise. Look after yourself.”

Sergeant Mel Thomas, who arranged the recording of the video, said: “While carrying out some work for a local charity, I was speaking to a local promoter who was hosting an event with Anthony Joshua at the Athena in Leicester.

Anthony Joshua shows support for knife amnesty

"Knife crime is a subject very close to the promoter’s heart and he was very keen to support the campaign so I worked with him and Anthony’s team to arrange the recording of the video.

"I see the terrible incidents that my colleagues on the frontline have to deal with as part of their job so I was willing to do anything I could to help.”

The video will be used on all of the force’s social media channels, including sponsored adverts on Snapchat and Instagram to target a younger audience.

It will also be shown in schools as part of the newly updated education package.

The #LivesNotKnives campaign aims to reduce the number of knife-related offences in the county, to educate and inform young people of the dangers of carrying knives and to bring offenders to justice.