Knife thugs attacking 17 victims a day

Crime figures show 17 people are stabbed or robbed at knifepoint in London every day.

The study, which covered April, May and June, recorded 1,580 offences across the capital.

It means London accounts for more than a quarter of the 5,500 serious knife crimes committed in Britain.

The figure includes 24 murders, 339 woundings and 1,134 muggings and would have been higher had the Home Office not excluded thousands of less serious offences including possession of a knife and non-injury assaults.

This month, Met chief Sir Ian Blair said it was "totally unacceptable" that half of people caught with knives escaped with a caution.

He spoke after student Rizwan Darbar became the 15th London teenager stabbed to death this year.

Lyn Costello, of Mothers Against Murder and Aggression, said: "We are losing control of our streets."