Southampton knife crime: Plea after third stabbing in a month

Sunday's attack in Wilton Avenue, in which two men were injured, is the third stabbing reported in Southampton in just over three weeks.

The week before, on July 24, a teenager was killed following a serious assault in Langhorn Road while at the start of the month, a man was stabbed in London Road.

Read more:

• What we know so far after two men stabbed in early hours
• Extra security guards brought in to patrol Southampton after dark

Labour MP for Southampton Test, Alan Whitehead, said the government has made "huge cuts" to the police and he is worried about the increase in violent crime.

Conservative MP for Southampton Itchen, Royston Smith also questioned police priorities, saying that each incident is a "tragedy".

"Some are spending time arresting people for causing anxiety on social media when we still have a huge problem with knife crime," he said.

Residents too say they would feel safer with a stronger police presence.

Ambulance on London Road on Sunday

Maureen Blundell, 63, said: “I don’t feel safe. I was brought up around the Langhorn Road area and had never known anything like that to happen - it was quite a nice area.

“I wouldn’t walk through town on my own at night.”

Molly Bowers, 27, added: “It definitely makes me feel less safe. Police need to be patrolling more, and patrolling everywhere instead of certain areas, the bad areas."

On the Echo's Facebook page, many commenters asked: "What is going on in this city?"

The latest stabbing took place overnight between Saturday and Sunday.

Police were called out after an injured man turned up at Trilogy Nightclub in London Road at around 12.30am.

Wilton Avenue

While this latest assault took place at night, the last two were daylight assaults.

The first attack, a stabbing in London Road, involved a man in his 30s who was found with serious injuries at around 10am on July 6.

Last Sunday, 19-year-old Dawid Such was stabbed and later died in hospital.

He was found in Langhorn Road, Swaythling, just after midday.

Hampshire police says serious violence is a "top priority".

The force says officers are out in the community every day.

Acting Chief Inspector Hayley O’Grady, from the Southampton Neighbourhoods Policing Team, said: “I would like to reassure the public that every day, our officers are out in the community, using all the powers at their disposal to get knives off our streets.

“This ranges from education and prevention work to warrants, arrests, knife sweeps, amnesties and policing the night time economy.

“Carrying a knife destroys lives, families and harms our city – which is why we continue to take robust action against it to make Southampton a safer place to live.”

Cllr Matthew Renyard, Cabinet Member for Safer City at Southampton City Council, said the council is working with police to tackle knife crime.

It is using government funding to invest in lighting and CCTV, and giving resources to schools to help tackle issues early.

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