Every week in 2007, a teenager was murdered on Britain’s streets. Willingness to use extreme violence is increasing and has already claimed three teenage lives in 2008. But little is known about the reasons why.

This edition of Dispatches hears directly from the teenagers living on the frontline of violence and fear in South London and Glasgow. Providing an insight into the causes of the violence and possible solutions, Dispatches reveals the results of a snapshot survey of 200 teenagers to understand the nature and scale of violence and examines the greater use of deadly weapons, the influence of territorialism and escalating gang membership.

Dispatches hears from teenagers whose friends have been brutally murdered and who now live in fear for their own lives. They explain how serious violence can be triggered by something as apparently minor as being on the wrong side of the road. The film examines the increasingly deadly weapons being used by teenagers such as submachine guns - indiscriminate weapons that can fire 1,000 rounds a minute and which claimed three lives last year.

Channel 4, Monday 28 January 2008, 8PM