Five teens a day shot or knifed in London

On average five children are being injured in gun and knife attacks every day.

The statistics - obtained by the Evening Standard - come as the Met reveals that crime overall is falling in the capital.

The total number of offences fell by six per cent last year but senior officers say they are still disturbed by the level of violence involving children, particularly teenagers.

Commander Shaun Sawyer, head of the Met's Violent Crime Directorate, said: "We are winning on many fronts, knife crime overall is down and the number of robberies down, but we know we have a challenge in youth crime.

"This year tackling violent young offenders continues to be a major priority. We are going to take on violent criminals, whether adults or juveniles, members of gangs or individuals." The figures obtained by the Standard under Freedom of Information rules reveal a frightening snapshot of teenage crime in the capital in an eight-month period last year.

From 1 April to 30 November, a total of 1,273 victims under the age of 20 suffered injuries in gun and knife attacks. Many were victims of gang violence.

The figures come amid mounting concern over the number of teenagers murdered in London. Two have died this year already while 27 were killed last year, the highest total ever. Details of the number of children injured but not killed in assaults reveals a shocking hidden scale of violence.

The statistics obtained by the Evening Standard show that in the eight-month period:

A total of 321 children were injured in shootings, 39 of them seriously.

Eighty-eight children were shot in armed muggings and two were injured in gunpoint rapes.

A total of 952 children were stabbed, 188 of them seriously.

Some 288 children were hurt in knifepoint robberies and 10 were stabbed in rapes.

Senior police officers admitted the numbers were disturbing but said the number of attacks involving children was now falling after "robust" campaigns to tackle youth violence.

Commander Sawyer said in fact the percentage of victims under 20 had fallen slightly last year though it was up significantly in the past five years.

He said: "We are carrying out robust action on the street to tackle gangs and take on violent individuals on estates and across London.

"These figures are worrying but we are determined to get on top of youth violence. We have been mapping these violent offenders and we will be going after them where they live."

Crime overall in London, in fact fell to its lowest level in nine years. Scotland Yard said police recorded a total of 876,298 offences last year, a fall of six per cent on 2006.

There was a significant fall in street robbery figures last year - down 15 per cent - after the Met poured resources into fighting a huge surge in muggings.

The number of offences of violence also fell by seven per cent and overall knife crime was down by 13 per cent.

Camilla Batmanghelidjh, of the charity Kids Company, said: "In fact, the figures are higher than this because there is under-reporting of attacks. There are a lot of knife wounds that are not going to hospital.

"I have always thought that the real statistics are not coming out.

"My experience at street level is that children are resorting to savage ways of surviving because from their perspective the adult world and civil society cannot protect them.

"When you are alone and the rule of law does not protect you, you have to adhere to an alternative system of power to ensure your own protection and that is where the weapon, violence and the gang comes in."

Lester Holloway, the acting editor of the New Nation newspaper, said: "These are shocking and horrifying figures. I fear that carrying dangerous weapons is now becoming a way of life for many children who feel vulnerable on the way to schools and colleges."