'I witnessed my first murder aged 11 and I was stabbed and left for dead - now I fight gang culture'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Mark Bracewell was 11-years-old when he witnessed a murder. Years later he found his own life at risk when he was attacked after trying to break up a fight.

Recounting the event he said: "He ran off and left me to die." Following the attack in 2016, Mark was rushed to the hospital and woke up in "immense pain" after being left partially blinded.

He said: "I just felt alone and I felt scared and I had a lot of time to reflect on the decisions I had made in life and ultimately the decisions that put me in that bed." It was then that Mark, from Moss Side, decided to end the cycle of crime that had followed him around since witnessing another life being taken in his formative years.

He has since dedicated his life to raising awareness of the dangers of carrying weapons and worked to help young people in difficult situations. READ MORE: ITV Good Morning Britain under fire for Harry and Meghan South Park debate as viewers think show has 'forgotten' Speaking to Hollyoaks actor Richard Blackwood as part of the Channel 4 soap's IRL [In Real Life] series, in which cast members speak to those affected by the topics they cover, Mark, 45, said he had "no aspirations," adding: "Words are a powerful thing and when you are told you’re no good and you ain't gonna be anything eventually you think, 'this is what I know, this is what I know and I’m gonna do….even though you know the risks and the chance….you might die." As part of the Hollyoaks' interview, Mark, who now lives in Stoke-on-Trent, returned to his childhood home in Moss Side, where he first witnessed a murder at the age of eleven and joined a gang when he was 13. "I don’t feel good that I made it out of here but that I made it out of here alive," he said. "Because there's