A youth worker who used a converted London bus to tackle gang violence has been left devastated after the vehicle was destroyed by vandals.

Justin Finlayson visited gang areas in London in the double-decker in an effort to break down postcode rivalries and bring warring groups together.

The United Borders project was originally launched in Harlesden last year in an effort to bridge the divide between the Stonebridge and Church Road estates.

Mr Finlayson, 39, a former London bus driver, said he had to keep the bus in Essex because of the cost of parking and lack of space in London.

He was driving it back after running a youth scheme in Wandsworth when it broke down in Hatfield Heath. Forced to leave it on the road overnight, he was phoned the next day by a local farmer, Mark Hailey, who said that the bus had been destroyed.

Firefighters who were called at 2am on Saturday arrived to find the bus completely alight. It was reduced to a burnt-out shell, and police are appealing for witnesses.

Mr Finlayson, a former gang member himself, said: “The bus was my pride and joy. I used it to run anti-violence and anti-gang workshops for at-risk youths, to try to get them away from violence. I had a summer of projects lined up in London and these are all in the balance because I have no bus.”

He also told how earlier this year his 21-year-old son nearly died after being stabbed 10 times when he was the innocent victim of a postcode gang attack in west London.

He said: “My first reaction [to the fire] was that it was horrific that my bus had been destroyed but I remembered my son and how he is alive after being nearly killed for no reason. It puts it into perspective and galvanised me to get a new bus.”

He has launched a public appeal to raise funds for a secondhand double-decker and to convert it into a mini-recording studio and a classroom, and would like to get support from Mayor Sadiq Khan. The project, backed by rapper-poet Akala, has helped engage with 60 young people so far.

Mr Finlayson used to drive to Church Road estate in the morning and then move on to Stonebridge. At first gang members from Church Road would jump off after their session, but then some stayed on to go to Stonebridge and rival gang members started recording music together.

To visit his gofundme page click here.