YOUNG people in one of Glasgow's toughest areas are picking up microphones and cameras instead of weapons.

YOUNG people in one of Glasgow's toughest areas are picking up microphones and cameras instead of weapons.

The Pollok youngsters are committed to breaking the cycle of violence which has blighted their neighbourhood since the 1960s.

They've launched a remarkable DVD which pleads for extra resources to be pumped into the area to steer young people away from trouble.

The anti-violence message is carried in a rap written and performed by budding poet Eamonn Coyle.

The short movie is being sent to key figures in politics, as well as leading Scottish entrepreneurs.

In one verse, Eamonn, 21, raps: "'Cos we want to see an end to all these hostilities "We want to make some friends. And get some youth facilities.

"So people in Pollok can be at peace and live at ease.

"And we can cure this boredom.

"And rid ourselves of this disease."

Trouble in Pollok has traditionally centred on the Green Bridge, which crosses the Brock Burn dividing the districts of Leithland and Lyoncross.

The bridge, located in a kind of No Man's Land, has witnessed countless violent encounters over the years, resulting in death and serious injury.

The fathers and grandfathers of today's young people also took part in battles at the same spot over the years.

Today's young people insist they only fight and get drunk because there is nothing else to do in Pollok.

Now the Green Bridge Initiative, part of YMCA Glasgow's Calm Project is giving a voice to young people in their quest to take trouble off the streets.

Through careful support work by YMCA Glasgow staff, the young people of Leithland and Lyoncross have been brought together to take part in days out at go-kart centres or theme parks, group meetings and youth drop-in events.

"People don't realise how the fighting affects your life," said Gary Watt, 17. "The threat of violence also means we can't move out of our area to get a job, go shopping or attend health centres.

"If you are spotted outside your own area, you run the risk of getting a serious doing."

Next year, Pollok will see the fruits of a lengthy development plan through the opening of the massive Silverburn shopping centre.

It will bring thousands of new jobs and limitless potential to the council housing scheme.

But there is concern that, while the mall may attract day-trippers to the shops, there may be little reward experienced by the area's youngsters.

Councillor Keith Baldassara has seen the changes and feels more must be done. He said: "More and more space has been taken away in Pollok, with a lot of development in the past 10 years.

"It hasn't brought with it the facilities which young people have a stake in running."

Coupled with the scourge of unemployment and limited opportunities, he said it's no surprise that youngsters seek solace in drink, often the spark for violent confrontation.

He added: "Alcohol now is very young-people friendly. Twenty years ago, it was a bottle of Export and an Eldorado chaser.

"Now booze comes packaged in such a way that it is easy to consume.

"They drink cherry and lemonade-flavour alcopops - before they know it, they have downed half a dozen bottles and they are drunk.

"A lot of the stuff that does take place here is definitely alcohol-fuelled."

The DVD contains the testimony of one reformed gang member, who was forced to flee the area because there were so many people after him.

Now in his 20s, the man, who asked not to be identified, said: "I think (the trouble) is getting progressively worse.

"When I was a young boy in a gang, we were eight or nine strong. Now, it's 20 to 25 guys hanging around the streets, drinking."

Girls, too, talk about how they "help out the boys" during gang fights.

Female teens also claim they would not tolerate a girl from another area walking into their "patch". It is these territorial-based disputes which have been at the heart of YMCA Glasgow's Green Bridge Initiative for the past three years.

Calm Project workers have discovered a high degree of stress in people as young as 12 and counselling now takes place in the Pollok area, including secondary schools.

In one peer research survey, the Calm Project asked a sample of 451 young people whether they thought there was a lot of violence in their area.

More than 400 said "Yes" or "Sometimes" with only a fraction saying "No."

Margaret Smith has worked with a network of youth counsellors and befrienders, trying to help young people who have suffered violence or bereavement.

"Most young people you meet are good," said Margaret, a senior youth worker with the Green Bridge Initiative. "They will tell you they only hang about the streets drinking because they have nothing else to do.

"They all say they would rather go to some kind of youth facility, where they could hang out with friends.

"If you look at the Green Bridge today, you can see there has been no fighting there for some time. If there had been, you would see footprints in the mud, broken glass and the tyre tracks of cars used to drive at victims.

"I would like to think some of that is down to the work we have been doing in the initiative. But we have to build on that."

One Pollok housewife summed it up by saying: "There must be money in this city that could be given for facilities, not just for Pollok but for other areas that have problems too.

"If it was a purpose-built building for young people, I think they'd appreciate it more."

PAUL DRURY