London knife crime: Police seize haul of machetes and stun guns in illegal weapons crackdown

Police have seized an arsenal of "dangerous" weapons following a search of two addresses in London as part of their crackdown on knife crime in the capital.

The haul of 62 knives included machetes and flick knives, along with 12 disguised stun guns, batons, and martial arts weapons. They were recovered after two addresses were searched in west and north-west London.

The 62 knives were all recovered from the boot of one car in NW10. A 39-year-old man has been arrested by police on suspicion of possession of firearms and offensive weapons and remains in custody at a west London police station.

The discovery of the weapons comes after knife crime across England and Wales rose for the first time in four years, according to the Office of National Statistics.

Separate figures also revealed there were reportedly more than 1,600 cases of youths being stabbed in London in the 12 months to May 2015, a 23% increase on the previous year.

Detective Chief Superintendent Dean Haydon, the Head of Trident Gang Crime Command said: "Tackling knife crime is a key priority for the Met. Every week, officers from across London carry out enforcement activity, and educational programmes aimed at prevention are regularly delivered to young people.

"The people of London can expect to see lots of coordinated and intelligence-led police activity over the coming week. We will be carrying out a variety of operations including weapon sweeps and stop and search; as well as targeting known offenders."