A POOL tournament was held between young people and the police to help break down barriers.

The informal event at the Active Change Foundation's (ACF) offices in Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, allowed the youngsters to talk to police in a friendly environment.

The ACF believe young people living in Waltham Forest's deprived estates often have negative impressions of the police.

Youngsters from Somalia and Pakistan attended.

Teams made up of members of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), the Lea Bridge Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT), young people and ACF staff all took part in the contest on Wednesday, June 17.

The ACF works with young people to try and divert them from getting involved in knife crime or terrorism.

The SNT team won the competition, the ACPO team came second, the team made up of young people finished third and the ACF staff team finished last.

Hanif Qadir, of the ACF, said: "It was absolutely fantastic and a great success. When we started these pool tournaments people asked 'what can you achieve with a pool tournament?' But they've really helped to bring young people and the police together.

"It's all about breaking down myths that young people have towards police officers."

Crispin Blunt MP, the shadow minister for home affairs, attended the event as did Superintendent Ian Larnder, from ACPO.

Mr Qadir said: "The tournament opened up Mr Blunt's eyes a lot. He felt excited about the commitment that the guys showed."