Stabbings have again plagued Lewisham in the past few weeks and the Mayor of London has invested money to try and fix the problem.

Sadiq Khan has pledged £282,000 to four projects in Lewisham to discourage vulnerable youngsters away from the streets.

Between 2012 and 2017 there was a 55 per cent increase in reported violent crime in the borough.

There was more violent crime reported between January and August this year compared to the whole of 2012.

Speaking about his investment, Mr Khan said: “Crippling government cuts to local authorities and policing have both had a significant impact in terms of a rise in violent crime, which is why my investment into youth groups in Lewisham that are making a real difference to young people’s lives is so key.

“By investing in projects and people that are dedicated to giving young Londoners an opportunity to get involved in positive activities, we can work to take every child and teenager in Lewisham at risk off the streets and away from the dangers of crime.”

Lewisham Youth Theatre and Serious About Youth are two of projects who will benefit from the funding in the coming months.

Damien Egan, Mayor of Lewisham, said the investment was warmly welcomed.

He added that over a quarter of residents in the borough were aged 19 or younger, who he described as the “beating heart” of the community.

Earlier this month the superintendent of the Violent Crime Task Force, Darius Hemmatpour, told News Shopper his specialist team was aware of the "several stabbings" in Lewisham.

Since then stabbings have been reported on a weekly basis with victims including a police officer, a teenager and a pensioner who was killed in Catford.

Below is the breakdown of reported violent crimes in Lewisham for this year by month:

January - 752

February - 689

March - 783

April - 679

May - 813

June - 800

July - 892

August – 740