An unusual anti-crime project is giving Westminster schoolchildren a taste of life behind bars complete with iron bunkbeds and cells.

Using a mock up of a prison cell, a group of year eight pupils at Pimlico Academy, in Lupus Street, spent last Wednesday isolated from their classmates (pictured).

They were allowed a limited amount of exercise, under the watchful eye of prison 'guards.'

The event, called Prison Me No Way, was jointly funded by the London Fire Brigade, Metropolitan police and charity Victim Support.

Children attended workshops which explained how prank 999 calls can costs lives, the devastating consequences of knife crime and the importance of road safety.

They also heard  from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Police Liaison officers about homophobic crime.

Superintendent Simon Ovens, from Westminster police, said: "We're pleased to be able to get school pupils to understand that carrying or using a knife is simply not acceptable and has dire consequences not only for the victim and their family, but for the perpetrator and their family too."

National co-ordinator for the Prison Me No Way charity Doug Evans added: "If this project diverts just one or two teenagers from offending then it has literally saved lives, stopped lives from being damaged or wasted."