OLYMPIC boxing hero James DeGale had to win a fight with drugs before battling his way to a gold medal.

In an interview as brutally honest as his bruising bouts in Beijing, the champion has revealed how he narrowly escaped ending up as a dope-smoking teenage tearaway.

But he was firmly put back on the straight and narrow by his parents . . . and boxing.

Now the 22-year-old—who is backing our Save Our Streets campaign to stop kids carrying knives—wants his success story to send a message to youngsters to stay away from trouble.

James, Britain’s first middleweight boxing gold since the 1960s, revealed: “I could have easily ended up like one of these kids in a gang. I used to smoke weed, roam the streets and fight.”

Violence and knife crime were already rife in Harlesden, west London, where James grew up in a close-knit family with his mum Diane, 50, dad Leroy, 51, two elder brothers Alex, 28, Lewis, 26 and sister Eloise, 23.

His schooldays were difficult—“I was always acting Jack-the-lad”—and by the time he was 14 he was neglecting his promising boxing career and heading further off the rails. Until the night his mum found his bed empty—at 11pm.

James revealed: “I had sneaked out and was with a couple of friends I liked to hang round with and do silly things, smoke dope and chill.

“When my mum got hold of me she went ballistic and said she’d take me to social services.

“It was only then, when my parents sat me down and seriously threatened to turf me out, that I changed my ways and knuckled down.

“My mum said she wasn’t going to let me ruin the family. Looking back, that’s what’s saved me. They all went through a lot of heartache for me. And I owe them so much.

“We’re a very close family and it did the trick in getting me back in the gym and the boxing ring.

“The fact that they made me stick with my boxing has made me a better person. It gave me discipline. I could have been one of the ‘grime yutes’—which is what everyone knows them around here as. Little kids who are out to cause trouble, who want to be the big man hanging round the streets in gangs.

Now James is backing our Save Our Streets campaign, whose aims include two years’ jail for people carrying knives. We are out taking the message to the country with a series of roadshows featuring leading figures such as Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Met Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair.

“It’s great what the News of the World is doing in getting people to face up to their responsibilities,” said James. “The bottom line is kids should not be carrying knives. The way to stop that happening is to hammer everyone who gets caught with a knife without a good reason. That’s vital.

“It’s not big or clever to carry a knife. And we know how easily things can get out of hand—a petty argument can turn to murder when you have a knife in your hand.”

James was introduced to boxing by his late grandfather Charlie Street when he was 11, and says: “He was a big, big influence on me. I owe so much to him.”

And he believes the sport could be an answer for today’s wayward kids. He says: “Luckily, I’ve had boxing to channel all my energy and it’s won me a gold medal. That’s what we should do with all these ‘grime yutes’. Get them in the gym. If they want to fight, that’s where they should do it.”

He adds: “The advice I would give to all kids, whether they’re rich or poor is that drugs, partying, living the good life or acting the lad isn’t going to give you the fulfilment of being the best you can at something you love.”

James will soon be doing his bit to help steer youngsters away from trouble by touring schools to show how people can learn by their mistakes.

He said: “If it helps kids turn away from carrying knives and getting into trouble, then it’s got to be worthwhile.”