IN their violence-fuelled world, guns are badges of honour and the community next door is the ultimate enemy.

Junior school age youngsters are aspiring to become part of their local gang and, once in, they work their way to the top by terrorising others.

Gang crime is at an all-time high on the streets of Southampton and, after dark, many residents are too terrified to step outside their front doors.

Senior police officers have singled out the city as one of the worst places in Hampshire for gang crime and catching the culprits of the firebombing of The Castle pub in Bitterne is just the tip of the iceberg - nine were jailed for a total of nearly 30 years yesterday.

The Thornhill Boyz, the Townhill Park Boyz, the Weston Army, the Sholing Boyz, the Thornhill Psychopathic Army and the St Mary's Boyz are a handful of the gangs in Southampton at the moment.

They model themselves on the American gang culture, even speaking in Afro-Caribbean accents.

Chief Inspector Andrew Bottomley, Bitterne district commander, said: "We have got a particular problem in Bitterne and across Southampton with the different youth groups.

"I have worked in Basingstoke and Fareham and other parts of the county and I have never known the sorts of things I have seen here.

"Kids around here also follow the American rap culture. They talk in an Afro-Caribbean accent, not a Hampshire accent, and they have a huge fascination with guns and the music culture."

Within the Thornhill Boyz, the three McCash brothers were key members and the eldest, 24-year-old Darren, was one of the main ringleaders, according to police.

Darren McCash was the oldest of the group that targeted The Castle and was a member of the 'Government', the name for the top dogs within the Thornhill Boyz.

Detective Inspector Kath Barnes, who led the investigation, said: "The rap gives an idea of the mentality of the people we are dealing with. It's about guns, drugs and violence towards other people just because they live somewhere else.

"We have got situations where you ask young junior school age children what they want to do and they are aspiring to be part of these groups."