Teenage cyclist hacked to death by masked gang on London estate

Neighbours alerted by screams of 'help me, I'm dying'

Ingrave Street, Battersea (Google Maps)

A 17-year-old cyclist has been hacked to death by a masked gang in London, witnesses have said.

The boy was stabbed multiple times with large knives and left sprawled on a car bonnet near a housing estate in Ingrave Street, Battersea, according to reports.

Neighbours said they called for help after being woken shortly before 1.30am on Sunday morning to screams of "help me, I'm dying," The Evening Standard reported.

The victim was taken to a south London hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2.50am, police said.

A 45-year-old neighbour told the newspaper he saw six people jump out of a car and chase the teenager.

"He was on his bike but they caught up with him and stabbed him.

“Someone shouted ‘police are coming’ which stopped the others from finishing him off and they got in the car and sped off," the neighbour said.

The victim was the eighth teenager to be killed in the capital so far this year, five of whom were stabbed to death.

Formal identification has yet to take place, although the police said they believed they had established the identity of the victim and had informed his next of kin.

Detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating, but said they had yet to make any arrests.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to call the incident room at Lewisham via 101.

To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or give information via the https://crimestoppers-uk.org website