Absent fathers have a ‘significant impact’ on the behaviour of young people caught up in crime, drugs and gangs, a shocking report has found.

Experts who examined the lives of 60 vulnerable teenagers in South London found that nearly three quarters were not living with their fathers.

Four in ten witnessed domestic abuse and many of the parents had problems with drink or drugs or were in trouble with police themselves – with their children often following suit.

Absent fathers have a ‘significant impact’ on the behaviour of young people caught up in crime, drugs and gangs, a shocking report has found. Stock picture, shows a drug pusher bringing drugs to a man sat inside a car

Experts who examined the lives of 60 vulnerable teenagers in South London found that nearly three quarters were not living with their fathers.

The report was commissioned after three teenagers were stabbed to death in Croydon, South London, in November last year.

The report by the Croydon Safeguarding Children Board concluded: ‘A significant proportion of fathers were absent from the family home, which meant they had limited parental control or influence on their child’s behaviour, with the remaining parent finding it increasingly more difficult to curtail risky, or troublesome behaviours.’

Many of the youths’ parents themselves committed crime or abused drugs or alcohol, ‘possibly indicating to the child that such behaviour is acceptable’. Domestic abuse also ‘had a significant impact on the child’s behaviour and relationship with figures of authority’.

Of the 60 teenagers studied in the past two years, five have died –including the three who were stabbed, one who was killed in a moped crash and another who took a fatal dose of drugs.

All of them were known to social services – a quarter of them before their first birthday. Nineteen were expelled from primary school and all of this group went on to be convicted of crimes. Overall, three-quarters had gone missing on at least one occasion – including all of the girls – and half were in gangs.

By the end of the study, 50 of the youths had criminal convictions, including three of the boys who were in jail for murder.

Of the 55 still alive, 23 are now behind bars, five are in care, three of the girls are pregnant and one is homeless. During the study, more than a quarter had no home. Six of the girls are still in education, with one hoping to go to university.

Croydon councillor Alisa Flemming said: ‘The findings are a powerful reminder of the reality these children are living – from a very young age, many of them feel unsafe and isolated, and all of them desperately need support and stability. Five of these young people have tragically lost their lives. We must come together as a community to support the remaining 55.’