A gang of hooded thugs has “slashed” a 17-year-old boy with a sword as walked home from college in east London.

The group of males ran towards the victim waving the weapon when he was with friends in West Ham in the borough of Newham.

The friends dispersed and the boy was chased into a cul-de-sac where he fell over. The attackers surrounded and “slashed” him with the blade as he desperately tried to defend himself, police said.

He was taken to a hospital, where he received several stitches before being discharged.

Detective Constable Georgina Hebron, from Newham Borough, commented: “This is a nasty unprovoked attack on a teenager who was walking home from college. We are appealing for anyone who may have seen the attack to come forward.”

The suspected attackers were described as two black males, one white, and one south Asian, all dressed in dark jackets and hoodies.

Officers have released CCTV images of four males wanted in connection with the attack, who are thought to have boarded a train at Star Lane DLR station.

Detectives are appealing for information to identify four people following an assault at Star Lane Park in West Ham #Newham https://t.co/UvuAxWykql pic.twitter.com/QY0PLkICtq — Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) May 17, 2018

London is in the midst of a violent crime wave, which has accelerated during the leadership of London’s Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Last month, it was reported that recorded machete attacks in the UK have shot up by nearly five times in just three years, with the majority taking place in the capital.

The soaring number of crimes committed with the sword-like weapons means there is an average of 15 machete incidents every day in the UK, or one every 90 minutes.

In January, Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures showed that in the year to September 2017 the police recorded a massive 37,443 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument.

This represents a 21 per cent surge on the previous year, and the highest number of blade attacks since records began seven years ago.

The rise in knife crime was larger in London, jumping by 38 per cent, and gang-related acid attacks are also on the rise.

Across the UK, violent crime overall surged by 20 per cent, robbery was up by 29 per cent, and sex offences rose by 23 per cent.