An online survey conducted on behalf of the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) also found that more than half (55 per cent) of 13 to 17-year-olds had seen real-life violence on social media in the past year and nearly a quarter had seen other children carrying, promoting, or using weapons.

The poll of 2,025 teenage children across England and Wales on their experiences of violence revealed 14 per cent had “skipped school” out of fear and 65 per cent had changed their behaviour to keep themselves safe from violence.

The YEF report published in November 2022 also showed that more than a quarter of children want to see changes to policing, including more patrols, as a way to tackle violence.

For more information and to download the report, visit the YEF website.