Westlife star Kian Egan last night appealed to Ulster youngsters not to get involved in knife crime. In an exclusive interview, the Irish singer became the latest big name to join the fight against the spiralling number of stabbings being reported in the UK and Ireland.

Pop pin-up Kian, who is engaged to gorgeous actress Jodi Albert, said: “I’ve just came back from a holiday and we turned on the news and saw that another young guy was stabbed in London.

“It’s disgusting and disgraceful that so many young people are being murdered. Whether it’s with knives or anything else, something needs to be done about it. Everybody knows that — something really has to be done to sort it out once and for all.”

Last month the PSNI revealed knife crime in the province has increased by almost ten per cent between last year and the previous year.

The figures were released as the police re-launched a campaign against knife crime here. The drive, which is aimed at boys and young men between 11 and 18, includes cinema, radio and poster advertisements.

Kian made his emotional appeal to young people, asking them to “just get away from it”, saying: “Picture something better for your life, don’t settle for second best. Find yourself a good hobby and good friends, go and make a career for yourself, look at yourself as someone who is up-and-coming in the world, who is going to have a good, long successful life.”

His band Westlife are on a year’s break but Kian added: “Westlife are not a political band but if there’s anything we can do to help, we would.

“We would sign our name to anything that helps sort out this mess. We would help with any worthy campaign that is for a good cause and this is something we think is worthy.”

In March 2001 Kian himself was a victim of thuggish behaviour when he was attacked, as he walked around Sligo with friends, by two yobs he had previously gone to school with.

Whether it’s relaxing in his Porsche, Jeep or brand new campervan the Sligo man is enjoying his break from one of the world’s biggest bands and spending more and more quality time with fiancee Jodi.

He popped the question on Christmas Day and the happy couple plan to tie the knot next year.

“We are simple people, it’s going to be a simple occasion. And we will have good tunes playing all the time.”

As the band enjoy their time apart, Kian is kept busy, having just teamed up with manager Louis Walsh to find the Irish equivalent of Girls Aloud. Last weekend the pair held open auditions in Dublin and his fiancee Jodi is already being tipped as one of the girl band singers.

Kian told us: “I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to do something different. My role is going to be very simple — I’m going to be helping the band themselves. I’m going to be with them most of the time, trying to show them the ropes of the music industry and guide them on their journey – hopefully to the top of the charts.

“Louis is going to be involved in the record label and all the decision making. This is my first project outside Westlife.”

But the search for Ireland’s new girl band will not be televised: “It’s going to be more a case of finding real talent and taking them away without anybody seeing them, before launching them as the next big girl band. I think going down the reality TV line is probably a bit common at the minute. I think to try and do what we’re doing on TV would just get lost and that’s not necessary how we want to do it. We want to find the next big Irish girl band,” Kian said.