The children trapped by Albania's blood feuds

It is said that revenge is a dish best served cold and in Albania it can be served very cold indeed. Disputes known as blood feuds can span generations, sucking in descendants who had nothing to do with the original insult or murder.

Though they have a long history, blood feuds remain potent today, with 68 families in the Shkodra region of northern Albania currently unable to leave their homes because of them.

We visited Niko, a 13-year-old boy, in his tiny hamlet in northern Albania. Niko is said to be "in blood", in other words, under threat of death for supposed "crimes" committed before he was even born.

Niko lives with his elderly grandparents and is in danger every time he leaves his home. Dozens of others families in the northern Shkodra region of Albania also live virtual self-imposed house arrest in fear of their lives.We were taken by road and boat to visit Niko in his isolated community by his teacher Liljana Luani. Mrs Luani specialises in teaching "in blood children" at their homes. The blood feud means they cannot leave their homes, even to go to school.

The rules governing blood feuds have long been codified in a book of laws, called the Kanun, that dates back to the 15th Century. The Kanun helped to bring order to the lives of tribes in northern Albania, particularly during its incorporation in the Ottoman Empire.