Man, 40, arrested on suspicion of murder after being detained at the scene in Battersea

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was found stabbed to death at a house in south-west London on Wednesday.

The 40-year-old man was detained at the scene in Grayshott Road, Battersea, after Metropolitan police were called to the terraced property shortly before 12.40pm, the force said.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene at about 1.40pm, despite the efforts of the London ambulance service and medics from an air ambulance to revive her, officers added.

It is the 90th homicide investigation launched in the capital this year.

The quiet, tree-lined, Victorian terrace was cordoned off as forensic officers combed the home for evidence.

Vickie Foot, a 43-year-old who lives nearby, described the killing as “absolutely shocking” and said she saw the arrest. “They handcuffed him and put him into the van. He looked quite calm,” she said.

Police reassured residents, telling them: “It’s not gang-related.”

The woman’s next of kin were yet to be informed and she has not been formally identified.

Inquiries continued and a postmortem will be carried out in due course, police added.

A London ambulance service spokesman said: “We sent an incident response officer, an advanced paramedic, a single responder in a car and an ambulance crew. We also dispatched London’s air ambulance. Sadly, despite the efforts of our medics, a person died at the scene.”

On Wednesday evening, the Met dismissed reports the woman’s six-year-old son had called the emergency services.