Teenager arrested after man left fighting for his life following south London train stabbing

A man has been arrested while another has been left fighting for his life after a stabbing on a train in south London, ITV News' Ian Woods reports

Police have arrested a 19-year-old man on suspicion of attempted murder after a man has been left fighting his life following a stabbing on a train in south London, British Transport Police said.

British Transport Police (BTP) said it received reports of two men fighting while entering a train at Shortlands railway station in Bromley shortly before 4pm on Wednesday.

Footage shared on social media showed a man wearing a black hooded jacket, black trousers and a face mask holding a large blade, while onlookers could be heard telling him to stop.

Train services in the area were disrupted until around 6.30pm as police dealt with the incident.

Knife crime remains rampant in London, with it making up the highest proportion of offences recorded in England and Wales, according to the latest figures from the Home Office.

Some 13,957 offences were recorded in the 12 months to September 2023 by the Metropolitan Police. This is up 22% from 11,452 in the previous 12 months, but is 5% lower than the 14,680 in the year to March 2020.

On Wednesday, a Southeastern trains spokesperson said: “We are aware of a serious incident on board one of our services this afternoon. We are urgently assisting the British Transport Police and would urge anyone with any information to contact them immediately.

“All of our trains are fitted with CCTV and we will be providing this footage to the British Transport Police to assist with their enquiries.

“We also have an integrated safeguarding team, comprised of Southeastern, BTP and Network Rail colleagues and we are already working together to find those responsible.”

British Transport Police detectives are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

BTP are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident to contact BTP by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 397 of 27/03/2024.Alternatively, anyone with information can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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