Britain suffers a ‘stabbing hour’ after school when children are at greater risk of being attacked as they make their way home, an alarming new study has found.

Researchers at Queen Mary University of London reviewed case reports from nearly 2,000 under-25s who were admitted to a trauma centre in the capital between 2004 and 2014.

They found a significant peak between 4pm and 6pm for under 16-year-olds which accounted for more than 22 per cent of the 172 child stabbings, leading researchers to call for more policing near schools and an increase in after-hours clubs.

Karim Brohi, Professor of Trauma Sciences at Queen Mary, and Director of the London Trauma System, said: “Preventative strategies for secondary school or college groups could involve measures such as schools introducing more after-school activities, focused policing around schools in the hours after school, and programmes to increase awareness of the dangers of knife carrying, conflict resolution skills, and personal mentoring.

“Prevention also involves developing resilience in the primary school age groups who will move into the at-risk environment in the next few years.

“Developing their role models, increasing literacy, strengthening parental bonding, developing self-value and a sense of future-worth all have been shown to reduce the risks of children engaging in violence later on.”