The inner city kids choosing horses over gangs

Tucked away in one of England's most deprived city neighbourhoods is an unlikely sight - a community riding centre.

Ebony Horse Club can be found in Brixton, south London, which has one of the UK's highest rates of child poverty.

But this charity provides a place to learn and relax for youngsters under threat from gang culture.

One of those is Omari, a 12-year-old, who has been a member of Ebony for three years.

"Coming here has helped me mentally and physically, it's calmed me down – it has taught me a lot of life usage and it's helped me outside of school and outside of Ebony," Omari says.

"The horses themselves have taught us a lot, they've taught us to be caring, kind, calm and be ourselves around horses.

"It's calmed me down in school – stopped me from coming to trouble 'cause I know, as soon as that bell rings, I know that I'm on my way here."

More than 120 young people attend Ebony Horse Club each week.

Many of them have even used their newfound skills to get into college and employment.

"No matter how poor you are or how rich you are it doesn't stop you from loving horses," Omari says.