An emergency meeting has been called by church leaders in Manchester to discuss the worrying trend of gun crime in the region.

|PIC1|The Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch will host talks, set to take place next week, with local vicars and community leaders from Moss Side, Whalley Range and Hulme.

Leaders from more than a dozen Anglican parishes will attend the crunch meeting, although Bishop McCulloch has used the event to also call for stronger links with other churches to tackle the violent culture increasingly impacting the area.

Ahead of the meeting Bishop McCulloch has said: "There has been a considerable amount of co-operation but we need to have a closer contact with the other churches.

"It seems young people feel the only way they will get respect is by carrying a gun. We can't allow this situation to carry on. We have to see how we can challenge that culture."

Pentecostal churches were particularly praised by the Bishop of Manchester for their effective community works with the Afro-Caribbean communities. In addition, Bishop McCulloch also complimented the city's Street Pastor movement for its work.

However, local community workers have also been quick to point out that many youngsters viewed the traditional Church image with scepticism.

Former gang member-turned street pastor Tony Winter explained to the Manchester Evening News that experiences give him and other volunteers a credibility which other youth workers might lack. He said: "Many people find it hard to trust anyone they consider part of the establishment and they consider the church to be part of that.

"Although we have been treated with suspicion, we have got over it because people know we are not the police and many of our volunteers live and come from the same estates and many have had colourful pasts."

Pastor Winter now leads about 60 pastors in the Moss Side, Longsight and Gorton areas of Manchester, working to turn youngsters away from guns, drugs and crime.