CARNAGE TO HIT CAPITAL, WARNS DOC

A LEADING trauma surgeon fears a “summer of carnage” on the streets of London.

Martin Griffiths raised the alarm as two more violent deaths in the capital brought the gory total to 58 so far this year.

Police found a 20-yearold man stabbed to death near Finsbury Park in the early hours of yesterday.

A 21-year-old man, who was found at the scene with stab wounds, has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Scotland Yard launched another investigation after a

32-year-old man died following an assault in Morden on Thursday.

Detectives arrested a

31-year-old on suspicion of murder and he remains in custody.

Mr Griffiths said that treating youngsters with knife and gunshot wounds had become the “bread and butter” of his work.

The Royal London Hospital consultant predicted warmer weather would inflame violence in the capital.

He said: “It’s looking more like South Africa or inner-city US.

“You’re looking at stabbing and gunshot wounds of a proportion and severity that matches those environments.

“If there is hot weather in the summer, it will be carnage.

“When it gets a few degrees warmer, it’s going to be taxing. It’s going to be difficult.”

The trauma ward has experienced a surge in gun and knife victims compared to the first quarter of last year.

There have been 42 people with knife wounds (up from 31) and 23 with gunshot injuries (up from 10).

Mr Griffiths, who has treated victims as young as nine, recalled how he once had four children in his ward.

“You’re thinking to yourself ‘this is not what I trained for’,” he said. “I’m a trauma surgeon not a paediatric surgeon.

“We’re having to use the skill set that we use to look after adult trauma injuries for kids. That was never part of the deal.

“But we look after children now. Welcome to the new normal.”

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has confirmed that victims of violent crimes are getting younger.

Of the Finsbury Park murder, London mayor Sadiq Khan was “deeply saddened” by “another life unnecessarily lost to violent crime”.

He added: “The Met Police are using extra City Hall resources to fight this scourge and to remove violent criminals and weapons from the

streets.”