A COMPUTER game which brings to life the tragic consequences of gun and knife crime is being targeted at primary school children.

Computer games like Grand Theft Auto have courted controversy with vivid portrayals of violent crime.

Now, for the first time in Britain, programmers are using a game to convey an anti-gun message.

The Home Office-funded game is to be handed out to Greater Manchester schools over the next few weeks in a pioneering scheme.

The game invites the player to make choices - such as whether to accept a gun offered for protection - and then shows the result of the decision.

Characters in the game are shown being groomed to join a gang, with outcomes like being shot, arrested or beaten up.

In one scene the young brother of the main character ends up in intensive care, the victim of a revenge attack that follows an accidental shooting.

Alcohol

The hard-hitting game also tackles the issues of alcohol, dealing and taking drugs, running errands for thugs, knives, gang turf, peer pressure and the police.

The game is the 13th in the Crucial Crew series, which has previously used computer games for safety messages about the dangers of cycling, electricity, the seaside and railways.

Manchester Pc Joe Warburton worked on the game on behalf of Manchester Multi-Agency Gangs Strategy group.

He said: "We think this will make a massive difference. This new game is an effective and safe way for children to explore the dangers of getting involved with gangs but without getting hurt.

"My remit is to target children before they get involved. Many of them will have been to a park and seen older children with guns or knives and think it's OK to hang around with them.

"This game shows them what that can lead to and enables us and teachers to directly deal with the issues which arise."

The game will be rolled out across the country to areas with gun and gang crime problems.

It is also available at crucial-crew.org/gangs .