Teenage boy fighting for life after three stabbings in under two hours across London

Young men and teenage boy stabbed in Brixton, Northolt and Harrow in unrelated attacks on Sunday night

The teenager was stabbed in Coles Crescent, Harrow, on Sunday night (Google Streetview)

A 17-year-old boy is in a critical condition after becoming one of three people stabbed in under two hours in London.

The teenager was attacked shortly after 8pm on Sunday in Coles Crescent, Harrow, and taken to hospital by the London Air Ambulance.

No one has been arrested and Metropolitan Police detectives are investigating.

An hour before, a 20-year-old man was stabbed around two miles away in Wilsmere Drive, Northolt.

He was taken to hospital and his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing. A suspect has been arrested and remains in custody while enquiries continue to establish the circumstances of the attack.

At 6.20pm on Sunday, a man in his 20s was stabbed in Southwell Road, Brixton. He remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital as police hunt for the perpetrator.

The knife attacks came a day after a man was stabbed to death near a busy Tube station.

Edmond Jonuzi, a 35-year-old Albanian national, died at the scene of the attack by Turnpike Lane station at around 9.45pm on Saturday.

The man was found near Turnpike Lane station in north London (stock image) (PA)

Police said the murder – the 74th in London so far this year – came after a fight between two groups of men nearby, and appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Following the weekend of violence, London’s mayor Sadiq Khan called on the home secretary to immediately make good on his pledge to secure extra funding for the police.

Sajid Javid told officers he would prioritise increased resources for forces struggling to cope with the demand of a national increase in violence, cyber crime and terrorism in a government spending review next year.

But Mr Khan said any cash injection would come too late to help Scotland Yard’s current battle with escalating gun and knife crime that could make 2018 the bloodiest year in the capital for more than a decade.

According to the mayor’s office, the Conservatives have cut the Met’s funding by more than £1bn since coming to power in 2010 – £730m to date, with a further £335m to be saved between now and 2021.

There are now fewer than 30,000 officers on the streets for the first time since 2003.

Mr Khan said: “It’s about time the government woke up to the stark reality of the cuts they have imposed, but waiting to the spending review next year is far too late.

“We have seen police officer numbers drop below 30,000 in London for the first time in 15 years and it’s not sustainable.

“The new home secretary must show he really understands the issues facing the police by giving them proper funding and powers now before it’s too late.”

The mayor has used his powers as London’s police and crime commissioner to invest an extra £110m into the Metropolitan Police to recruit 1,000 new officers.

A further £45m has also been allocated to the the mayor’s Young Londoners Fund, which aims to help people away from crime by working with community groups to give them skills and opportunities.

The government is also funding youth charities and projects as part of its first ever Serious Violence Strategy, which identified drivers such as the changing drugs market and antagonism between rival groups on social media.

But it was heavily criticised for omitting home office research that suggested police cuts had “likely contributed” to rising violence and “encouraged” offenders.

There has been fresh alarm over the use of mopeds to launch violent robberies after statistics showed there have been an average of 60 scooter-enabled crimes a day in London this year.

A 24-year-old woman remains in a critical condition a week after she suffered a serious head injury when a moped robber punched her to the ground for her phone and bag in Edgware. Two suspects aged 17 and 18 have been arrested on suspicion of robbery.

On Friday, two other robbers riding a silver moped threatened a family of four – including three pensioners – as they sat in their car in Coulsdon.

One of the men brandished a large knife and demanded they hand over their jewellery, cutting a 30-year-old woman’s hand as he took her bracelet.

The suspects are described as two white males, aged in their late teens or early 20s. Both were of slim build and wore dark coloured tracksuits, black crash helmets and face masks.

Police forces have been appealing for increased funding from central government as figures show a 22 per cent rise in knife crime over the past year in England and Wales.

Many officers have linked the increase with the loss of around 20,000 police officers since 2010, while there is also a shortage of detectives needed to investigate crimes.

The Home Office announced plans to train university graduates in just 12 weeks to take on the posts, aiming to recruit 1,000 new detectives over the next five years.

The Police Federation called the scheme an “insult to the experienced hard-working detectives that we have left in service”.

Karen Stephens, secretary of the National Detective Forum, said that although policing was in crisis, direct entry candidates would lack the necessary experience.

“Detectives in the UK are the best in the world because they cut their teeth on the front line and have learnt on the job, through years of experience,” she added.

“Whilst we welcome any new investment in policing, this appears to be divisive and ill-conceived.”