Ilford stabbing: Man killed in east London

The 20-year-old man is the fifth person in nine days to be stabbed to death in the capital

A murder investigation is under way after a man was stabbed to death in east London.

The 20-year-old victim is the fifth person in nine days to be fatally stabbed in the capital.

Police were called to Cranbrook Road in Ilford at 20:48 GMT on Tuesday and found the man with stab wounds.

He was pronounced dead at the scene about half an hour later. Scotland Yard said no arrests had been made.

A crime scene is in place at Cranbrook Road and the front entrance to Ilford railway station is closed. An entrance at the back of the station has been opened.

The victim was stabbed to death in Cranbrook Road

Zamirullah Stanikzai, 21, who works in a phone shop near where the stabbing occurred, said he saw two men with knives.

Another witness named Andy, who was at a betting shop nearby e said he was "terrified" and "shaking with nerves".

"The staff in the betting shop were shaking. Everyone was just really nervous and petrified.

"I'm 42 and I was brought up in the east end and I don't even feel comfortable going around London anymore because you don't see any police presence at all."

Police have made no arrests over the killing

Ilford South MP Mike Gapes said he was "shocked and saddened" to learn of the man's death.

There have been 12 fatal stabbings in London this year.

Knife crime in London

Between April 2017 to March 2018 the Metropolitan Police recorded 14,707 knife crimes, an eight-year high according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Across England and Wales, there were 285 killings by a knife or sharp instrument in the year ending March 2018, the highest since records began in 1946.

Home Office figures show out of 43 forces, the Met Police saw the highest knife crime offences per head of population between April 2017 and March 2018.