Knife crime has hit the headlines again over the weekend after two young victims were murdered in the space of a few days.

Knife crime has soared across England and Wales in the past decade with 11,199 serious crimes - including homicide , GBH and rape - featuring a blade or sharp instrument in the first quarter of 2018-19.

This was the highest number of crimes involving knives on record and is two thirds higher than the equivalent figure for 2012-13.

The victims of these crimes seem to increasingly be children with the number of children admitted to hospital with stab wounds soaring by 93 per cent in five years, according to new research.

Traditionally, London has a far higher rate of knife crime than in other parts of the country and the same is true of the latest figures.