Gang-related gun crime has cost Manchester more than �7m in less than 10 months, police have said.

The figure was revealed on Monday as a multi-agency strategy to tackle the problem began.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said during 2002 five people have been murdered in gang violence and 22 others injured.

The Manchester Multi-Agency Gang Strategy (MMAGS) has got underway after a year of Home Office-funded research into the culture and is the first to be developed in the UK.

[The culture] has led to the loss of many of our children through drugs and violence

Patsy McKie, Mothers Against Violence

Victims in 2002 have included a 14-year-old boy and a 70-year-old woman, who was caught in the cross fire of a gang shoot-out.

A combination of losses to Manchester's economy and the costs incurred by agencies tackling it has led to the high expense to the city.

Among other things MMAGS aims to develop ways to deter young people from entering gang culture and reduce the impact of the culture on the wider community.

Chief Superintendent Adrian Lee, of GMP's south Manchester division, said: "The research has clearly demonstrated the risk to young men of becoming involved in gang-related activity.

Reduce re-offending

"All agencies involved in the initiative liaise closely to monitor gang-related activity and intervene where necessary."

Agencies involved include the Probation Service, which aims to reduce re-offending rates and protect the public.

Patsy McKie, chair of Mothers Against Violence, said there has been a marked increase in gun culture in city communities over the last decade.

"[This] has led to the loss of many of our children through drugs and violence...we would like to do whatever we can to reduce and eradicate this problem," she said.