The shocking extent of London's knife crime problem was revealed today as figures showed that 40 knife offences a day were reported to police over a two-year period.

A person was knifed to death on average every four days in London in 2017 and 2018, figures revealed, following a Freedom of Information request by the Standard.

The figures reveal the total number of knife offences including those involving stabbings and deaths caused by a blade for the calendar years of 2017 and 2018. Met Police dealt with 29,232 knife offences in a two years.

On average this is about 40 offences a day in London.

The total number of homicides and stabbings fell across the two-year period however. In 2018, the number of knife attacks fell by over 500. In 2017, there was 4,784 stabbings and in 2018 there was 4,246. The number of homicides also fell by 12.

Official statistics for 2019 have not been made available just yet buy Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the decrease is encouraging.

Although the number is still “too high”, Mr Khan praised London communities and the Met for their work in reducing crime.

A spokesman from the Ben Kinsella Trust, which tackles knife crime through education and campaigning, said the small reduction is not a victory yet.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said officers are working "day and night" to identify and pursue knife criminals.

The majority of the crimes detailed in the figures were committed in Southwark with 1,594 offences occuring in that London borough

The borough also had the highest number of knife-related homicides with 17 people being stabbed to death in two years.

Bexley was the only borough of 33 to not have any deaths resulting from a knife in the two years.

Mr Khan said: “Thanks to London’s communities and the hard work of the Met Police, who have been targeting offenders and removing dangerous weapons from our streets, we are seeing some knife crime offences starting to fall, but it still remains too high.

“We still desperately need the Government to reverse its damaging cuts to the police and preventative services.”

He added the level of knife crime “across the country” was still “unacceptably high”.

The Ben Kinsella Trust said: "It is encouraging to see that knife crime deaths and injuries fell slightly in 2018 compared to the previous year. However we need to put these figures into context. Knife crime remains at a level unseen for a over a decade.

"These small reductions are not a cause for celebration and they will provide little or no comfort for those who have lost loved one or being affected by this heinous crime.

"The few months of 2019 has shown that knife crime continues to blight our society and we must do all we can to take knives off the streets and educate young people about the dangers of carry a knife."

A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police said the force is due to release its official financial year-end figures soon.

She said: “While London saw increases in violence between 2017 and 2018, we are beginning to see a decrease in key areas.

“For example this year, between Jan 1 to April 1 the homicide rate was 32, a 30 per cent decrease compared to the same time frame in 2018, when it stood at 47. Official financial year-end figures will be released at a later date.

“Bearing down on violent crime and knife crime on the streets of London continues to be a top priority for the Met.

“We are working tirelessly – day and night – to identify and pursue offenders, help bring perpetrators to justice, take weapons off the street, support victims, engage and reassure the public, and keep our communities safe.”