London Life

A blue tarpaulin cover swayed gently as residents on their way to work walked past, heads down, glancing furtive looks at the ground floor flat where a 15-year-old-boy was shot dead.

Youths, still in shock over the death of Billy Cox loitered around in the forecourt, staring at the media circus with silent hostility.

One boy actually walked up to a cameraman and took a swing at him, prompting police officers at the scene to quickly intervene.

Billy was found dying in the flat at 1540 GMT on Valentine's Day, in the Fenwick Place estate in Clapham North, south London.

Billy Cox was shot in Clapham North

Local housing adviser Brian Parker, a neighbour of the Cox family, described Billy as a "pleasant sort of chap" who would be seen playing football with other youths on the estate.

He said: "I knew Billy very well, I have known him since he was this high. He seemed morose and not very happy of late, but I have no idea why he was killed."

Mr Parker said Billy was from a hard working family. His father Tom works in the building trade and his 12-year-old sister Elizabeth is a promising dancer.

The estate has been here before.

While the medium low-rise blocks that make up the Fenwick estate are far from run-down, they have long been a hotspot for drug dealers, residents said.

In March 2004, Errol Anderson, 47, was convicted of selling cannabis at his Green Leaf cafe on Landor Road.

A month later, Nicholas Davis, 25, was shot dead in Fenwick Place, on Landor Road, in what was believed to be a dispute over drugs.

Resident Muria Piludu, who witnessed from her flat the row which ended in Mr Davis's murder, said: "Of course people now are scared.

"After that shooting things got quiet for a while, but the problems never went away."

Fenwick Place and the nearby Clapham Road Estate have for some time been a focal point for drug dealers operating off the bustling Clapham High Street, known locally as "Coke City".

"Fenwick Place isn't a sink estate" said Mr Parker. "Most people here are hard working and proud of this estate.

"It is one of the better estates in Lambeth, but it suffers from a lack of policing at weekends which is when the drug dealers do most of their business.

"People here are absolutely appalled, we've had this before and we all knew it would erupt again."

One resident, a father of two boys, said: "We haven't had anything like this for a while.

"All the young lads here play football together, it's generally a peaceful area.

"This is very disturbing. I think police need to find out where these guns are coming from but parents need to take responsibility for their children and make sure they are not getting mixed up with the wrong crowd."

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Your emails

I saw The Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" at the Savoy Theatre last night.

I couldn't help thinking throughout the story about the tragedy caused by drugs. I wonder if Southwark Council could offer free tickets for the theatre performance to members of its community to help toward peace and solidarity.

Steve, London

Police "stop and search" policies created an outcry and protests from civil liberties groups and liberal "do-gooders" and had to be scrapped. The chickens have now come home to roost and the results are there for all to see. An increasing number of young black youths roaming the streets armed with knives and committing executions of other young black teenagers in their homes using firearms. An increased number of armed police officers patrolling the streets of South London while residents live in fear. And what do we hear from the civil liberties groups and liberal do-gooders of the results of their softly, softly, and kid gloves approach? Nothing, of course. What about the civil liberties of the victims?

David,
Kenton

The money the goverment is going to spend on catching people that break the Non Smoking ban in public places, would be better spent on catching pot smokers and drug pushers. I see many drug pushers everywhere I go in London.

It is very sad to see the children in our society using all kind of drugs.
Cactus

The Government should give financial support to charitable organisations and churches to create more engaging activities for youths to take them off the streets.

Roberta
South East London

Armed police on the streets is by no means going to solve the problem. In fact it will only cause this current trend of gun crime to grow and become further entrenched in our everyday lives. More guns on the street is a dangerous and negative situation regardless of who's carrying them. Let us not forget Jean Charles Menezes.

Will Shields

Society is based on the family. A single mother can not look after many children on her own. There many children who do not know who their fathers are. The social services can not do more. It is a family responsability.

Agapita

Conscription should be introduced for boys 16+ who do not go on to do 'A' levels and degrees. Also, parents should be given more rights to discipline their children. Teachers should be supported in schools to do their jobs effectively. The co-operation between the Government, Parent Groups and teachers is essential.
Vivienne Badu

Recent murders in Peckham have put a very negative spotlight on the area. Some prominent figures and social analysts have again tried to explain this in terms of young men in the area growing up without father figures etc. What has been missing in some of these discussions is the high level of deprivation in the area, with large numbers of people either unemployed or on very low wages. I live in the area and know not only single parent but two parent families who have to juggle more than one part time job to make ends meet. This leaves very little quality time for family life, even for families that try their best to provide for their children. New houses have been built in North Peckham bu we have ended up with fewer community structures to support such families and young people. Don't blame just the parents.

Dr Alfred Banya (PhD)