Knife crime on the streets of London has claimed yet another victim - after a man died close to Clapham Common Tube station. The victim was treated at the scene by paramedics but their desperate attempts to save his life were in vain. An air ambulance landed on Clapham Common and roads in the area were cordoned off by police. Pictures posted online show a major junction in Clapham cordoned off while paramedics tried to save the stabbing victim, who police have said was in his 40s. The man was treated outside the Belle Vue pub on Clapham Common South Side. A Met Police spokesperson said: "Police were called at 2.37pm on Friday, March 29 following reports of a stabbing on Clapham Park Road, close to Clapham Common Tube station. "Officers attended with London Ambulance Service colleagues. "A man aged in his 40s was found suffering from stab wounds. "Despite the efforts of paramedics he sadly died at the scene. "At this early stage there have been no arrests." To see how we covered this story as it unfolded check out our blog below.<doc-sep>The victim, in his 40s, was found wounded on Clapham Park Road, near Clapham Common Tube station in south-west London, after police were called just after 14:30 GMT.<doc-sep>The force is trying to track down three male suspects, "all of slim build", who were seen leaving the area immediately after the attack at about 14:30 GMT, he added.<doc-sep>A DRIVER was stabbed to death after being ambushed in his car on a busy London street and left in a pool of blood by a 'laughing' gang. The victim - in his 40s and named locally as dad-of-three Gavin Garraway - was knifed in Clapham, South London, in broad daylight by three men believed to be in their 20s who fled the scene yesterday afternoon. 11 A man has been stabbed to death outside Clapham Common station Credit: @Markylon 11 A black car with a broken window that appears to have crashed into a traffic light outside the Belle Vue pub Credit: London News Pictures 11 Forensics officers seen placing the investigation tent over the body Credit: �2019 Gustavo Valiente / i-Images 11 The scene outside Clapham Common tube station after a 40 year man was stabbed to death Credit: London News Pictures 11 Forensic investigators at the scene of the crime Credit: London News Pictures The gang are believed to have smashed through the victim's window after he crashed into a post while trying to get away. Eye-witnesses described how passersby pulled him out of the car covered in blood and battled to save him in the middle of the road. His black VW Polo remained at the scene outside Clapham Common station last night as a murder investigation got underway. The stabbing is the third violent death in the capital in just three days and unfolded in the leafy Clapham Common area, a favourite with families and home to scores of seven-figure properties. LAUGHED AS THEY RAN AWAY Eyewitnesses described the moment that 'men in their 20s' set upon the motorist - who died yards from his car. One witness said the three men fled down nearby Venn Street and took a left before escaping. The 52-year-old, said: "We saw them run past the shop, one of them was laughing. "They were young, with no facial hair, they didn't really look the type to be honest. "Across the street I could hear the victim's foot was stuck on the accelerator. "The men passed by, you could see they were quite smartly dressed underneath the tops." From the way they did it, it looks like they had done it before. They knew he would be there, somehow they knew An eye witness A food delivery driver was sat on his moped opposite the scene as the chaos unfolded. The man, 23, from Clapham, said: "He was stabbed through the window of his car. "I was there for his last moments, I could see his eyes rolling into the back of his head. "He was a man in his 30s, he was driving in his car when they attacked him. "They approached his car on foot, there were three of them, two wore black tracksuits and another wore a navy blue one. "None of them tried to cover their face, but they wore hoods, they were black men, skinny and in their early 20s. "Just one had the knife, it wasn't that long but it was really wide. "Once they reach his car at the traffic lights he was trapped, so he drove into the post at the lights. "The men surrounded the car and tried to get inside, one of them picked up a pair of crutches and tried to break the window. "There was a small gap in the window on the other side, where he was sitting, they managed to get the knife in there. "After they came running across the road, and ran down Venn Street. They cut across all the traffic. They didn't give a toss. "From the way they did it, it looks like they had done it before. They knew he would be there, somehow they knew." The police dragged him out of the car and a blonde woman performed CPR An eye witness The witness said that the victim was left in his car with his foot stuck on the accelerator. He said: "The car was just sat there revving loudly. "Everyone walked outside to see what was happening, but for a few minutes everyone just stared. We didn't know if it was over. "I began to walk over and I looked into the car, the window had been cracked, there was a pool of blood on the passenger side. "His eyes rolled into the back of his head, he was a big man and he had dreadlocks. "The police dragged him out of the car and a blonde woman, about 40, performed CPR. "She was doing it for ages, she looked like she knew what she was doing. "An ambulance came ten minutes later. The police were there in minutes, first one car, then a few came. Then they taped the road off. "I'm shocked, I am shocked, this is the first one that I've seen, and I have lived here all of my life." CLAPHAM CRIME SCENE Police could be seen holding sheets tied together to block the view of the body from passers-by. Forensic officers could be seen gathered on the corner, while detectives entered the crime scene. A police cordon was set up blocking nearby Venn Steet, while traffic formed along Clapham High Street. Mothers turned the head of their children as police began to move the body. Others stood and filmed on their phones, while another ambulance arrived at the scene. GRIEVING RELATIVES Three female relatives held each other and wept on a road by the scene but were too upset to provide a tribute. Seemingly overcome with grief, one man tried to run into the crime scene, before he was restrained by police. Men with balaclavas could be seen on the other side of the crime scene, as a gang of men watched on. Speaking at the cordon, a man in his 20s said: "The men tried to break the window. He crashed and three men stabbed him. "When we approached the car he was looking in a really bad situation, he looked like he was dead, but he was still moving."<doc-sep>
What is the scale of the problem? Police chiefs have described the recent spate of knife crime as ‘a national emergency’. In the first two months of 2019 there were 17 homicides in London alone, where 35% of all knife crimes are committed. The number of NHS England admissions among people aged 10-19 with knife wounds has risen 60% in five years, surpassing 1,000 last year. The number of knife and offensive weapon offences in England and Wales have risen to their highest level for nearly a decade, with the number of cases dealt with by the criminal justice system up by more than a third since 2015. Knife crime-related offences recorded by the police rose by 8% in England and Wales in 2018. Figures on sentences handed out for such crimes, published by the Ministry of Justice, showed there were 22,041 knife and weapon offences formally dealt with by the criminal justice system in the year ending March 2019. This is the highest rate since 2010, when the number was 23,667. What happens to people caught with knives? In the year ending March 2019, 37% of knife and offensive weapon offences resulted in an immediate custodial sentence, compared with 22% in 2009, when the data was first published. The average length of the custodial sentences rose to the longest in a decade, from 5.5 months to 8.1 months. Are younger people more at risk of being involved in knife crime? The MoJ figures revealed that the number of juvenile offenders convicted or cautioned for possession or threats using a knife or offensive weapon increased by almost half (48%) between the year ending March 2015 and the year ending March 2019. The increase in adult offenders over the same period was smaller, at 31%. However, adult offenders still accounted for 74% of the total increase in cautions and convictions received for those offences in that period. What are the government doing about knife crime? In March 2019 chancellor, Philip Hammond, handed an extra £100m to police forces in England and Wales after a spate of fatal stabbings led to a renewed focus on rising knife crime and police resources. In the same month more than 10,000 knives were seized and 1,372 suspects arrested during a week-long national knife crime crackdown. Officers carried out 3,771 weapons searches, during which 342 knives were found. Another 10,215 were handed in as part of amnesties. A new Offensive Weapons Act was passed in May 2019, making it illegal to possess dangerous weapons including knuckledusters, zombie knives and death star knives. It also made it a criminal offence to dispatch bladed products sold online without verifying the buyer is over 18.