Britain’s knife-crime epidemic is hitting Streatham harder than nearly anywhere else in the UK, according to the latest figures.

Streatham, along with Glasgow, central Manchester, Vauxhall, Southwark, and Bermondsey, have been highlighted as the worst affected parts of the country.

Residents of these areas are more than four times likely to be a victim of knife crime compared to the national average.

The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, also show that fatal stabbings have reached a record national level with an averag of five people a week being killed with a knife or sharp instrument.

In London the number of fatal stabbings this year has risen by 25 per cent as 86 people lost their lives.

The data was obtained by the Conservative Party, with members quick to criticise the sharp rise in knife-crime figures under the Labour Government.

Statistics show that since 1997 fatal stabbings have risen by almost a third in all bar one police force in England and Wales.