Stabbing next to ‘knife free’ poster

ON LONDON’S blood-soaked streets, it is a bitterly ironic image.

On the left, a poster aimed at reducing knife crime among young people. Yards away, a police officer mans a cordon after the ‘senseless’ stabbing death of a 22-year-old man.

The striking photograph was captured after Scotland Yard launched their 101st murder investigation this year. The victim was attacked in Deptford, south-east London, late on Saturday night by a gang of men. Police found him collapsed by the side of a bus shelter at 11.45pm.

The poster is part of a £1.35 million Home Office campaign to target ten to 21-year-olds in cities where knife crime is particularly prevalent. The posters, featuring real-life stories of young men and women who nearly lost their lives, are intended to promote living ‘knife free’.