Time to move Notting Hill Carnival, MP and residents demand after 16 stabbings

A TEENAGER horrifically injured when he was stabbed in the stomach with an outlawed “zombie killer knife” was among 16 people wounded in stabbings at the Notting Hill Carnival.

Organisers were today facing fresh calls to relocate the event to a London park after two days of violence.

Most of the attacks came yesterday as 11 people suffered injuries, though none were life-threatening.

A youth of 15 left fighting for life after being stabbed on Sunday is now recovering and stable in hospital. A boy aged 14 was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.

Scotland Yard said officers made 454 arrests in the two-day bank holiday celebrations, which saw a million revellers take to the streets of west London.

The stabbings at the 50th anniversary parade led to fresh calls by residents and community leaders to consider moving the event to an area where crowds can be more easily controlled.

Kensington MP Victoria Borwick, who spent yesterday with officers policing the carnival, said she was appalled by the level of violence. “This is supposed to be a carnival, a fun family event, but gangs come with the specific aim of causing crime,” she told the Standard.

“I am not anti-carnival but are we going to carry on putting up with this level of crime. I feel the carnival should be given more space, in wider streets or in a London park. We need to move it to somewhere gangs do not chase each other through the streets.” She said one boy suffered terrible injuries after being stabbed in the stomach.

“He was slashed with one of those zombie knives,” she added. “If you take one of those out again, your insides come with it.

“I believe he was stitched up again but of course he will never be the same. You have to ask why people are bringing zombie knives to a carnival.”

The teenager is believed to have had emergency surgery in hospital.

Cit y Hall said that along with the police it would “thoroughly review” the carnival — as it did every year.

The Met said most of those arrested — 169 — were for drugs offences, with 38 more people being held for possession of nitrous oxide, a new offence introduced this year after the Government banned legal highs. A total 90 were held for possession of knives or offensive weapons, with 25 arrested for assaulting police. The £6 million operation involved 7,000 officers.

London Ambulance service said more than 1,000 people were treated during the carnival, with 170 of the most seriously injured taken to hospital.

Most of the patients had alcoholrelated illnesses or injuries and were treated by a team of 200 staff based at nine treatment centres. In a separate incident at 9pm last night, two men stabbed on Ladbroke Grove sought refuge in a nearby Starbucks — where staff used napkins and Sellotape to patch up their wounds as they waited 15 minutes for paramedics to make their way through the crowds.

A l a r ge canister of c o mpre s s e d nitrous oxide — dubbed “hippy crack” — with the capacity to fill 2,250 small bottles and with a street value of £150,000 was seized in Queensway.

There have been calls for carnival to be moved to a park since the 2000 event when two men were murdered. In 2008 there was serious rioting and 500 youths were arrested.

Resident Sheila Robertson, who has lived on the carnival route since 1968, said: “Every year it gets worse. I used to love the carnival. It was a joy and it brought people together but has dramatically changed since its infancy.

“It used to be a message of unity but violence is now part of the event. It’s dividing people and we’ve had enough. Things must change radically.”

The Notting Hill Carnival Trust did not answer requests for a comment.