SIX stabbed to death in just 24 hours as Blade Britain's knife epidemic spirals out of control



Yusuf Miro, a 20-year-old university student was stabbed to death in Walthamstow on Thursday night

The scourge of knife crime gripping Britain has reached new depths with six murders across the country in less than 24 hours.

Four of the killings were in London in an appalling day of bloodshed.

Meanwhile, another teenager is in hospital in serious condition tonight after being stabbed outside a branch of Blockbuster Video in Bolton.

The outburst of violence has prompted Gordon Brown to pledge he would introduce new measures to tackle the epidemic.



Describing the 'terrible stabbings' in the past week as 'shocking and tragic', the Prime Minister promised new enforcement tactics and 'tough' parenting programmes.



Scotland Yard chief Sir Ian Blair was also forced to issue a reassurance to the public that his force was doing 'everything possible' to stop the blight of knifings.



Boris Johnson, the London Mayor, voiced his 'deep regret' at the deaths and said the 'long-term complex root causes of violence' needed to be tackled.

An 18-year-old man who died after being stabbed during a fight in Edmonton, north London was named by police today as Melvin Bryan.

The teenager received fatal wounds to his neck and chest during the confrontation at a bedsit in Gloucester Road, Edmonton, on Thursday.

His death took the number of teenagers to die violently in the capital since the beginning of the year to 20.

Police were called to reports of a disturbance at the address close to Silver Street railway station at about 2.30pm.

Mr Bryan, of Peckham, south east London, was taken to hospital for treatment but died of his injuries.

A man and woman were arrested in relation to the incident. But they were later released with no further action.

Recent teenage knife victims in the city include 14-year-old David Idowu, who died on Monday after being attacked three weeks earlier; Shakilus Townsend, 16, who was set upon by a gang in a suspected 'honeytrap' killing; Ben Kinsella, 16, who died as he tried to break up a fight outside a bar; 18-year-old Harry Potter actor Rob Knox, and former altar boy Jimmy Mizen, 16.

In the 24-hour knife spree, a young man was struck down in Walthamstow, North-East London, after he popped out of his girlfriend's flat to get food from a takeaway on Thursday evening.

Ben Kinsella was stabbed to death in June this year David Idowu was the 19th teenager stabbed to death in London this year

University student Yusuf Miiro, 20, was stabbed in the head and chest in the stairwell by a man wearing a white 'Scream' mask and a hoodie. He managed to stagger back to the flat but collapsed inside.

Father-to-be Thomas Coombes Duffield, 20, was repeatedly stabbed in the stomach after an argument on a leafy street in West Bromwich, West Midlands.

His distraught pregnant partner Stephanie yesterday left a bouquet of flowers at the scene with the words 'Always love you, my angel, love Steph 'n' baby'.

On Merseyside, fireman Anthony de Asha was arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife Joanne after she was found stabbed to death at their Crosby home.

The family of Adnan Patel, a 20-year-old construction worker who was beaten and stabbed to death near his car in Leyton, East London, described him as a 'good man who did nothing wrong'.

A 16-year-old has been found guilty of stabbing Martin Dinnegan, above, to death

Witnesses described two gangs of men armed with golf clubs, baseball bats and knives flying at each other in a vicious street brawl on Thursday evening. Scotland Yard are investigating whether the incident was drugs related.

Latvian Gennar Jaronis, 41, was found with head injuries and slash wounds outside the squat where he lived, a disused pub in Tottenham,

Two people have been arrested over the stabbing of the 19-year-old victim in Edmonton.

Yet another man in his late 20s is in a critical condition with stab wounds to the back and stomach after being found by police at an address in Willesden, North-West London.

The shocking catalogue of killings emerged as a teenager was found guilty of the knife murder of 14-year-old Martin Dinnegan. The 16-year-old stabbed the talented schoolboy in the back over a 'dirty look' Martin had given him and his friends.

Martin's parents Lorraine and James, who have called on Gordon Brown to tackle Britain's rampant knife culture, stormed out of court after three other teenagers were cleared of the killing.

Martin was the 15th teenager to be murdered in London in 2007.

He was heading to a park on a bus in Holloway, North London, to meet some friends on June 26 last year, when glares were exchanged with a group of friends cycling on the street.

The boys followed the bus and when Martin got off, they clashed.



Voicing his horror at the stabbings, Mr Brown said that 'carrying a knife is unacceptable in our society'.

He said: 'The terrible stabbings that have occurred this week are shocking and tragic, and my thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have been hurt or killed in these attacks.

'I have spoken to Sir Ian Blair (Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police) today about the situation in London, and I know the police are doing everything in their power to bring those responsible to justice.'

Sir Ian said: 'There has been a tragic death toll from knife crime in London over a 24-hour period.

George Mizen holds a photo of his murdered brother Jimmy as he attends his funeral. Jimmy was just one of 20 youngsters to be stabbed to death in London this year

'Each is an absolute tragedy and my thoughts are with the families and friends of the victims.

'These attacks are not connected nor do they all involve teenagers.

'Detectives have made arrests in three of the murders. I want to reassure the public that the Metropolitan police is doing everything possible both in terms of thoroughly investigating each case and in continuing to carry out proactive operations to get knives off the streets.

'The dreadful loss of life in just 24 hours graphically illustrates the need for everyone to pull together to put an end to this unacceptable violence.'

Last week, Scotland Yard announced that tackling knife crime was its number one priority and revealed a 75-strong task force. Thousands of people have been stopped and searched in recent weeks as part of a police drive to deter young people from carrying knives.

Family and friends of Ben Kinsella marching to the scene of his murder in protest

Mr Johnson said: 'I deeply regret that four Londoners have lost their lives in these tragic incidents. We need to do all we can to address the long-term complex root causes of violence as well as ensuring the police are providing an effective deterrent to those who carry knives and guns.

'We are in this together and we all need to take responsibility. That's why we are talking to the Government about bringing forward new measures next week that will help to address the underlying causes of knife violence.'

Scotland Yard Assistant Commissioner Tim Godwin said he could understand why people perceive that knife crime is spiralling out of control. But in reality, he said, only a tiny proportion of young people carry weapons.

Police research in those areas where stabbings are most prolific found just one in 50 young people carries a knife, and only 730 weapons were found during searches of 32,000 people during the recent anti-crime knife blitz.

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Godwin said: 'Our evidence indicates it is about two in 100 young people that we need to sort out, and I am convinced that London together with the police and other agencies will get to them.

'I am confident that if we maintain our resolve, work together, identify whoever it is and pursue them then we will make a difference in London.'