Houghton Regis: 'Residents scared to come out of houses' near scene of Bedfordshire triple stabbing

People living near the scene of a triple stabbing that left two men dead are scared to come out of their houses because of knife crime, a local councillor has claimed.

A man in his 30s has been arrested by police on suspicion of double murder and one count of attempted murder following the attack in Houghton Regis in Bedfordshire on Sunday morning.

Two men, one in his late 20s and another in his late 30s, were pronounced dead at the scene. A third man, also in his late 20s, remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

Police are describing the incident in at Tithe Farm Road as "targeted", and said they believe it involved people known to each other.

Labour councillor Antonia Ryan, who has lived in the town for over 30 years, told ITV News Anglia that people needed reassurance.

"Everyone's shocked, everyone's devastated," she said. "The best thing about Houghton Regis is that we're a tight knit community.

"I'm hearing from residents that they are scared to come out of their house.

"We need further reassurance that this is not going to happen. We've had a lot of knife incidents in this local area.

"What I've heard is that young people, students, are even taking knives to school - not because they want to but because they feel they have to. 

"[They feel] they have to take a knife to feel safe."

Since the deaths, local councillors have met Bedfordshire's Chief Constable to discuss increasing the profile of an anti-knife crime campaign that is currently running nationwide.

They discussed issues such as going into schools to educate youngsters about knife crime, as well as offering mental health support to the community who may have been impacted.

Det Supt Carl Foster from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit, said: "This was a shocking incident which has occurred in busy area of Houghton Regis and has no doubt caused great concern to the local community.

“In a week where forces nationally are responding to knife crime, we are committed to tackling this issue.

"This incident depicts a level of violence that we will not allow to go unpunished, and equally we will work hard to prevent.”

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