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Man survives being stabbed 10 times in London after spate of New Year's Eve knife murders

Police condemn 'vicious, unprovoked' attack on victim left bleeding on doorstep

Lizzie Dearden
Home Affairs Correspondent
Wednesday 03 January 2018 20:14 GMT
The man was chased down and stabbed in Eastway Crescent, a quiet north London street
The man was chased down and stabbed in Eastway Crescent, a quiet north London street (Google Streetview)

A man has survived being stabbed more than 10 times in London following a spate of knife murders in the capital.

Police are appealing for information after the latest victim was chased through the streets of Harrow and ambushed on the doorstep of a home he fled to for help.

The 20-year-old victim suffered significant blood loss and remains in hospital, but doctors do not believe his injuries are life-threatening.

“The victim was chased by a unknown group of four to five males,” a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said.

“The victim ran to a residential property and knocked on the door for help. However, he was ambushed by the group and repeatedly stabbed on the doorstep.”

It came after four murders swept London as millions celebrated New Year’s Eve.

The first victim, an 18-year-old man, was stabbed in Larmans Road, Enfield, at around 11.30am on Sunday and died later in hospital. Five suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.

A police van on Memorial Avenue in West Ham, east London, near to the scene of a stabbing. (PA)

Shortly after 7.30pm, a 20-year-old man was attacked in Memorial Avenue, near West Ham Tube station in east London.

Police arrived to find the victim suffering from several stab injuries and paramedics could not resuscitate him, pronouncing him dead at the scene.

Three hours later, a 17-year-old boy was attacked near Tulse Hill railway station following an argument on a bus, dying on the pavement from a single stab wound to his heart.

Then in the early hours of the New Year, at around 2.30am, a 20-year-old man died of knife injuries at a flat in Bartholomew Court, Islington.

Police said he had been celebrating at a house party when “a disturbance broke out” that saw him and another 20-year-old man, who remains in a critical condition, stabbed. A 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Police condemned the “senseless” killings, which pushed the number of people stabbed to death in London to 80 in 2017.

There is mounting concern and anger over a spike in knife attacks in the capital, coming alongside rises in moped-enabled crime and violence including acid attacks and robberies.

Sir Craig Mackey, the Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, said it was “truly unusual and extraordinary” for so many murders to take place in such a short period of time.

“There are a number of issues affecting knife crime,” he added. “We are doing our part... but we need others working with us to help tackle those underlying issues around a knife culture that has emerged across London.”

The unrelated stabbings took the number of teenagers murdered in the capital to the highest for almost a decade, with 20 stabbed, five shot and one victim dying of multiple injuries last year.

No arrests have been made over the attack in Harrow, which happened at around 11.30pm on Tuesday, and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

"This was a vicious unprovoked attack on a young male who had been enjoying an evening with friends when he was chased, ambushed and repeatedly stabbed by a group of males for an unknown reason,” said Detective Sergeant Amar Patel.

"We have already spoken to lots of people in the area about the incident, but I would appeal to anyone who witnessed the attack and hasn’t spoken to us about it yet to come forward.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, tweet @MetCC or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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