ONS : Knife crime soared 22% across England and Wales last year

Police recorded 39,598 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in the year ending December 2017 - a 22 per cent increase compared with the previous year (32,468).

The figures show the highest number registered since comparable records started in 2010.

Knife crime in England and Wales soared by 22 per cent last year with more than 36,500 offences recorded, shocking new figures show.

The Office for National Statistics said: "The past three years have seen a rise in the number of recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument, following a general downward trend in this series since the year ending March 2011."

Offences involving firearms were also up, by 11 per cent to 6,604 recorded crimes.

It added that the majority of police force areas saw rises in these types of violent crime.

These offences tend to be disproportionately concentrated in London and other metropolitan areas, the ONS said. - ES