Hertsmere teenagers spent a day in detention last Thursday as part of a hard-hitting project to deter them from crime.

Around 90 young people from five schools in the borough, including Mount Grace and The Park in Potters Bar, were given an insight into a life behind bars as part of the ‘Prison Me! No Way!’ crime and safety awareness day.

Pupils from Queens’ Schools and Falconer School in Bushey, along with Borehamwood’s Hertswood Academy, also attended.

Each pupil was given a prison number and separated from their friends to be escorted from workshop to workshop, similar to the way inmates are moved around a prison.

They also got to step inside a replica prison cell, were given a workshop on the effects of drugs and shown how to deal witha potentially violent situation through a re-enactment.

They also came face to face with a former prisoner who had been given a life sentence for murder.

All the Year 8 and 9 pupils who took part were identified by their schools as those most likely to benefit from the day at the Wyllyotts Theatre in Potters Bar.

The day, ran by The No Way Trust in conjunction with Hertsmere Borough Council, hoped to raise awareness about the causes and consequences of crime and the effects of anti-social behaviour.