London stabbing: Man charged with murder of 75-year-old woman in Peckham

Elderly victim was stabbed multiple times

Ethnard Road in Peckham where the victim was stabbed (Google Maps)

Detectives have charged a man with murder after a 75-year-old woman was stabbed to death in south London.

The victim, named by locals as Maureen Watkins, was found wounded at her home in Ethnard Road, Peckham on Friday afternoon.

She had been stabbed multiple times. Medics said that she was confirmed dead a short time after ambulance crews arrived at the scene.

Edward Watkins, also of Ethnard Road, was charged in connection with the crime on Sunday.

The 55-year-old, who is believed to have known Ms Watkins, is due to appear at Camberwell Magistrates' Court on Monday.

"I have lived here since 1971 so I knew Maureen," said one friend, who asked not to be named.

"She was a lovely lady, a very nice lady indeed."

Floral tributes to Ms Watkins, a retired accountant, were left at the scene on Saturday.

Authorities in London have struggled with a spate of violence in the capital, with more homicides recorded so far this year than in the whole of 2017.

There have been 120 murders in the city thus far in 2018, compared to 118 in the total of 2017, a figure which excludes the 13 victims of terrorist attacks at Westminster Bridge, London Bridge and Finsbury Park.

Police officials responded angrily to comments made by Sajid Javid about rising knife crime earlier this week.

The home secretary said the police needed to “step up the response to get the situation under control”.

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, previously told The Independent that politicians should “leave police alone and let us do our jobs”.

Additional reporting by agencies