Almost 10,000 are hospitalised with stab wounds in London in just nine years

Almost 10,000 people have been hospitalised with stab wounds in London in just nine years it has emerged- days after another victim died. 

NHS Digital Data shows there were around 9,255 admissions of patients from the Met Police area between April 2012 and March this year.

These admissions involve 53 per cent of people aged under 25 and a total of 940 people admitted to hospital after attacks in 2020-2021.     

London police recorded 10,362 serious knife crimes from June 2020 to June 2021. 

Across England and Wales, separate Home Office crime figures show 47,000 serious knife crimes happened in the year to June.  

Patrick Green, CEO of the Ben Kinsella Trust, set up in memory of a young stabbing victim, said the statistics were shocking. 

He said: ‘These figures show that knife crime remains a significant problem for the criminal justice system and the NHS.

‘But more worryingly, they show that we are failing to protect young people.

‘We need to do far more to educate young people about the dangers of knife crime.’

Pictured: Ben Kinsella, who was fatally stabbed at the age of 16 in Islington, while celebrating the end of his GCSES. The Ben Kinsella Trust was set up in his name to provide anti-knife crime education

The data has emerged after another fatal stabbing in the capital on Friday night which saw Ali Abucar Ali, 20, killed as he tried to help an elderly woman who was set upon.

Mr Abucar Ali was fatally stabbed after he came to the aid of Betty Walsh, a retired barmaid, who was knifed as she went to pick up her dinner at Best Kebab and Fish Bar on Albany Parade in Brentford, West London. 

He was hailed a hero for trying to help Ms Walsh before he was killed  by a knife and was described as a hardworking man who had recently won a scholarship. 

Betty, affectionately known as ‘Betty Boo’ to all her friends, has lived in Brentford all her adult life and was a barmaid at four local pubs before she retired.

Ms Walsh’s family said the pensioner had undergone a kidney operation after the attack and was no longer on the critical list.   

Mr Abucar Ali was fatally stabbed after he came to the aid of Betty Walsh (pictured), a retired barmaid, who was knifed as she went to pick up her dinner at Best Kebab and Fish Bar on Albany Parade in Brentford, West London

The latest tragic stabbing comes after five mothers started a campaign in April of this year to encourage Londoners to speak up about knife crime.

It is called Hard Calls Save Lives and encourages women to ring Crimestoppers about anyone carrying or using a knife.

Becky Beston spoke out in the campaign after her son Archie was stabbed to death in Kingston in February 2020 while on a night out with friends. 

She spoke of having to call a stranger to get her son embalmed and said it was a call she should never have had to make. 

Becky Beston spoke out in the campaign after her son Archie (pictured) was stabbed to death in Kingston in February 2020 while on a night out with friends

The youngest reported victim this year so far was Fares Maatou, 14, who was killed with a knife in a row over an e-scooter. 

 Ben Kinsella Trust has called for more to be done to educate children about the impact of stabbings.

Two in five stabbings across England involve young people. 

 A spokesman for the National Police Chiefs’ Council said stop and search and targeting knife carriers has contributed to rising numbers of offensive weapon crimes. 

He said: ‘We believe that with the addition of officers to the service and investment into new Violence Reduction Units, informed by active communities, we can play our role in preventing more tragic deaths.’

A Government spokesman said introducing a Serious Violence Duty would ensure all parts of the public sector could work together and protect people from knife crime.

He said: ‘Every life lost to knife crime is a tragedy that didn’t have to happen.

‘That’s why we are putting 20,000 more police officers on our streets and also giving them greater powers of stop and search, so that more dangerous weapons can be seized and more lives saved.’

The youngest reported victim this year so far was Fares Maatou (pictured), 14, who was killed with a knife in a row over an e-scooter