London stabbing: Man killed in Stratford

A man has been stabbed to death in east London.

The victim, believed to be in his 40s, was found collapsed in Whalebone Lane, near West Ham Lane, Stratford, at 00:40 BST and was later pronounced dead at the scene.

His death was the fourth killing in London in three days - there have been two other stabbings and a shooting.

His next of kin have been informed but a post-mortem examination is yet to take place. No arrests have been made.

Local resident Rema Klayton said she had been left shaken.

She said: "The Met is aware of what is happening in Newham, namely the number of knife crimes. It would be nice to see the police doing more patrols in the area.

"The area is changing for the worst, not for the better.

"The crime rate is very high and we need help. People are looking to move out of Stratford right now."

A crime scene remains in place and there are road closures on West Ham Lane between Widdin Street and Paul Street. Stratford Park is also closed.

A section 60 order, which allows police to stop and search people, has been put in place for the whole of Newham borough until 18:00.

Mayor Sadiq Khan said the incidents were "heartbreaking".

"You can't sugar-coat that the last four days have been awful," he said.

"The families will never be the same again".

Cheyon Evans, 18, was stabbed to death on Friday afternoon in Wandsworth, south London. Mohamed Nadir Dafallah, 18, of Wandsworth, and a 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons have been charged with his murder.

Another man in his 20s was arrested on Monday on suspicion of Mr Evans' murder.

Mr Evans's aunt told the BBC Mr Khan needed to do more to tackle knife crime in the capital.

"It's a war on the streets. A lot of lives have been lost. These are poor communities and you need to inject money," Maxine Grant said.

Minutes after Mr Evans was attacked, 19-year-old Eniola Aluko was shot dead in Plumstead, south-east London. Five people were arrested.

On Saturday, a man in his 30s died after he was stabbed in Tower Hamlets.

The deaths take the total number of homicides in London in 2019 to 57. This time last year there had been 77 homicides, 48 of which were stabbings.