First Person: 'I've been in every fight for two years'

"It's like ranks and how big your family name is. The higher they are in your branch, the more respect you get.

"In the area gang there's about twelve. I'm the leader of the younger ones. It's going to sound stupid, right, but it's about experience. If you've been stabbed and you've fought a lot, the more experience you've got the higher up you go. I've been in every fight that our gang has had in the last two years.

"When we go to fight we wear colours, like football club shirts and tops. But for the area gang you have to wear either a black T-shirt, jumper, trousers or hat. You've got to wear pure black going about. Black plimsolls, black jeans, black joggies.

"Most of us wear joggies. Black jumper. A lot of us do wear balaclavas if we stay in a different area or fight with a different area.

"Just look up and see if you walk down the street, and go into side alleys, you'll see graffiti everywhere for the gangs. We do it in other areas mostly. We'll do it in our area and then go to other areas.

"If I went to try and be in a gang's baby crew, I'd probably get battered first to test my loyalty. If I tested my loyalty to them I'd be fine, depending on what baby crew I'm trying to get into. I've had a lot of kickings because of it.

"They're not really as bad now as what they used to be. It used to be that schemes close to each other would fight, but also places further away will fight with someone sometimes. People, so, they definitely just go and fight with them - know what I mean?

"So you'd have someone from one side of the town to fight with someone down that way and then they would maybe mix up and fight with each other - even though they've already been fighting each other - just because there's all the people coming down to their bit for fighting.

• Marc, 14, Edinburgh. His name has been changed and gang name omitted.