ACTRESS MADE THREAT TO KILL; Morton tells of knife arrest growing up in local children's home.

Byline: ROY BAYLISS

OSCAR-nominated Midland actress Samantha Morton has revealed how she was convicted at the age of 14 of making threats to kill.

The star of Sweet and Lowdown

The star of Sweet and Lowdown and In America was accused of attempted murder after an incident involving a knife while she lived in a children's home in Nottingham.

But the charge was reduced to threats to kill and she was handed an 18-week sentence at an attendance centre.

Morton, now 31, revealed the criminal conviction as she spoke about her first film as director.

She spent years in children's homes, an experience she used for The Unloved, a movie about a troubled young girl growing up in one of the institutions.

The knife incident, Morton said, happened after a riot at her children's home.

Police had already arrived at the scene when she picked up the weapon and threatened to kill an older girl who had bullied her.

She said: "I didn't touch her - wouldn't have touched her - but the police restrained me and then arrested me.

"I was locked in a cell for three days, it was terrible.

''I sat there thinking: 'I don't want this life - I'm not a petty criminal. I'm not a thug.'" Morton's decision to speak publicly for the first time about her criminal conviction came in the week when MPs told the Government that children in care do not receive enough support.

The Unloved is a harrowing tale told from the perspective of a young girl called Lucy who is placed in a care home.

Morton was 16 and living in a homeless hostel when she started work on the project after reading an article about a young prostitute who had once been in care with her.

Years later, the actress also read about two other girls she had known who had been murdered after becoming prostitutes.

Morton said leaving the care home where the riot took place was a turning point for her and she now works with kids in care.

She said: ''Some of the homes I was in were fine, but this was awful. It's being closed down now.

''Between the ages of 14 and 16 I was in a very dark place and then came out of it.

''I go into homes today, and see kids like I was and I just want to take them home with me.'' The Unloved is on Channel 4 at.

9pm on May 17..