NCH, the children's charity, found 36% of youngsters were worried about such crime in their area and 20% felt that they were either sometimes or often in danger.

Some 29% of respondents said they had been affected by gun and knife crime, 15% said they had been personally affected and 41% knew someone who had been personally affected.

Launching its report, NCH called for children under the age of 16 to be included in official crime survey data.

Chief executive Clare Tickell said: "(The) results provide a dramatic snapshot into the thoughts and experiences of children and young people. We're talking about young children who have real detailed knowledge about gun culture, teenagers who know someone that has been stabbed and many young people who don't feel safe in their own neighbourhood."

Almost two in three respondents gave drugs (66%), self-protection (63%), image (63%), peer pressure (63%) and revenge (61%) as reasons for their peers becoming involved in gun and knife crime.

Almost half (46%) said types of music and violent computer games could contribute and 53% said giving 17 to 21-year-olds longer sentences could help reduce such crime.

Ms Tickell said: "We need to stop generalising and labelling young people as just the problem. They are a group that can take us to the solution. Instead of demonising youth, we need to engage and challenge, leaving children and young people with the emotional well-being and confidence to meet life's challenges."

The study, Step Inside Our Shoes: Young People's Views On Gun And Knife Crime, questioned more than 800 people under 25 over a six-month period.

NCH recommended that children under 16 should be included in crime survey data to help understand the extent to which young people are victims of crime. The report also called for more access to structured activities, and involving young people in developing community-based youth services.