A CONVICTED drug dealer is to run the North-East's first knife crime workshops later this week.

Gifford Sutherland, 33, from London, will lead the two sessions, which are mandatory for youngsters who have committed a knife-related crime.

But a councillor involved in the scheme has warned that workshops alone will not solve knife crime - and has urged the courts to issue tougher sentences.

The workshops are being run by Darlington Youth Offending Service, but are open to youngsters from across the region.

The event's slogan is Respect your life, not a knife - the same slogan used by the Damilola Taylor Trust.

In them, Mr Sutherland, who was sentenced to nine years in prison for importing drugs and who is currently out on licence, will show the youngsters the consequences of their actions and the alternatives they have.

He is a trained youth worker and offending behaviour consultant, and works at prisons and workshops in London and the South.

He also has a degree in sociology and psychology, and was a director of a telecommunications company when he was convicted.

Councillor Bill Dixon, deputy leader of Darlington Borough Council, said the workshops were only part of the answer to knife crime.

"We alone cannot solve this problem," he said. "The courts must take a firmer line with any offender caught in possession of a knife, and impose a sentence that reflects public concern."

Coun Dixon also insisted the workshops were a proactive step.

"We have all been horrified by the recent spate of knife crimes in London," he said. "Darlington has no problem at present and I intend to ensure we never do.

"An important part of our strategy is to make offenders confront the damage knives do. We need to be proactive - not reactive.

"These are the first workshops of their kind in the North-East and have already attracted interest from other youth offending services, who will be sending young people who have been involved in knife crime."

Mr Sutherland will also work with the Darlington Youth Offending Service's intensive supervision and surveillance programme during his two-day visit.