Five people were stabbed in the space of two hours on Friday night in a spate of knife attacks in London.

Two boys, believed to be 16, sustained stab injuries close to Barking station in east London just before 6pm.

The boys were taken to hospital and their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, police said.

A teenage boy was taken to an east London police station on suspicion of causing actual bodily harm.

At 7.15pm on Friday, police were called to Abdale Road in Shepherd’s Bush in west London following reports of an “altercation” between two men.

Two men, aged 21 and 19, were found with stab injuries and were taken to hospital in an ambulance. No arrests have been made and police remain at the scene.

In the third attack, police were called to Beckenham in south London at 8pm where a man was found with knife injuries on Churchfields Road.

A man, whose age is unknown, was taken to hospital and is in a stable condition.

His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. No arrests have been made and inquiries by the Metropolitan police continue.

Knife crime in England and Wales reached an unprecedented high in the year to June, increasing by 7% on the previous 12 months, according to figures released last month.

Police-recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument rose to 44,076, the Office for National Statistics said, the highest figure since 2010-11 when comparable data began.

Almost half the offences were stabbings, 43% were robberies , with the figures also including rape and sexual assault.