'I tried to stop Tottenham youngsters from rioting,' says England footballer Jermain Defoe



England football ace Jermain Defoe told today how he tried to stop youngsters from rioting this summer.

The 29-year-old Tottenham striker revealed how he confronted a group of London youths who were on their way to riot during the week of unrest in August.

He said that he managed to talk them out of joining the trouble, saying: 'I remember walking around in Woodford and I walked around the corner, going to get something to eat, and I saw a group of kids.



Shocked: Tottenham Hotspur footballer Jermain Defoe met London youths who were on their way to riot, but managed to talk them out of it

'So I stopped them and said: 'What are you doing?', knowing where they were going.

'They said: 'We're going to riot', so I said: 'Do you even know what you're rioting about? What are you rioting for?'

'They said: 'What else are we supposed to do? We haven't got any jobs and that.' I just told them it was crazy.

'When I was a kid, I wasn't doing things like this and I was really shocked when I saw what was going on.'

The Spurs star said the group going off to riot in Tottenham included girls.

'I couldn't believe it. I was in shock,' he said.

Backs to the wall: Hooded youths scatter after they are confronted by riot squad members as flames roar through a building in Tottenham

'After the riots it made me even more conscious of the need to be a role model for young people - especially when the kids were saying, 'We haven't got a job. What are we meant to do?'

'I understand it is difficult for them. When you are coming from East London, I could have been like that where I could have gone down the wrong path and just followed my mates.

'But I always say you have got to be an individual. You shouldn't just follow your mates all the time.

'You might get a bit of stick and people might take the mick, but, at the end of the day, you have got to be strong and think about yourself and think about your future.'

Skirmishes: Rioters and police clashed in London and other major cities in August, after unrest sparked in Tottenham and Brixton

Defoe was speaking to London radio station LBC at the launch of the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation, which hopes to give something back to the local community through its sports training and education work.

Discussing his professional ambitions, Defoe said he and his team-mates are desperate to win a trophy this season so they can parade it down Tottenham High Road.

He said: 'The kids can come down and I can speak to the kids. The club have been fantastic, to be fair.

'There are lots of kids who are unemployed and we want to help them do something constructive with their lives.

'Hopefully they can look up to me and think: 'If Jermain can do it, then we can do it as well.'

'I'm not saying they have to play football, but try and do something constructive and, if you are going to do something else, do it to the best of your abilities.

'People might say: 'You play football. It's easy for you.' It's never easy. It's been a hard road. Just try and do something else. Don't give up on your dreams. Look at the bigger picture and try to look at the future.