West Midlands Police are dealing with seven knife crimes every day.

New official figures show there were 2,850 knife crimes in the area served by West Midlands Police over 12 months.

That's up from 2,394 the year previously - an increase of 19%.

The new figures include 1,591 robberies where a knife was used and 1,124 incidents of assault using a knife.

There were 38 cases of attempted murder using a knife, and 23 actual homicides.

The figures were published days after a fatal stabbing in Yardley Wood last week and reports of another stabbing in Selly Oak Park.

Labour MPs said West Midlands Police don't have the resources to keep people safe.

Steve McCabe (Lab Selly Oak) said: "Figures released today show a shocking increase in knife crime across England and Wales which is affecting our communities right across Birmingham.

"What did the Government expect when their cuts to police budgets have led to 2,000 less officers in the West Midlands

"The Government need to take urgent action to reverse this dreadful rise in knife crime and commit to properly resourcing our police so they can do their job."

Jack Dromey (Lab Erdington) said: "The Government is betraying the first duty of any government, the safety and security of its citizens."

However, Conservative MP Julian Knight (Con Solihull) said the West Midlands' Police and Crime Commissioner, Labour politician David Jamieson, was failing to make good use of the resources he had.

He said: "The buck stops with the Labour Police and Crime Commissioner, who is sitting pretty on more than one hundred million in reserves while closing down our police stations.

"He has had long enough in post and it is shocking that per head of population we are worst for gun and third worst for knife crime."

Referring to Labour Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, he added: "As for Labour's criticism, I ask who in their right mind could think for one second that the answer to tackling crime is putting Diane Abbott in charge of this country's police and Corbyn in number ten."

Solihull MP Julian Knight

While knife crime is higher than last year, it's actually lower than in 2010. The numbers fell between 2010 and 2014, but then started rising again.

The total number of violent crimes recorded by West Midlands Police was 57,712 over 12 months.

This was 18% higher than a year previously.

However, the violent crime rate in the West Midlands Police area, which takes into account the size of the population, is lower than the national average.

It's also lower than the figures for police forces serving other major urban areas including London, Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.

Minister of State for Police and the Fire Service, Nick Hurd, said: "The Independent Office for National Statistics is clear that the likelihood of being a victim remains low, however, every violent crime is a significant concern and the Government is taking decisive action to tackle it.

"We recognise that crime is changing and that police demand is becoming increasingly complex.

"The statistics show that there has been a societal shift towards victims reporting ‘hidden’ crimes to the police and we welcome that more victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence are feeling empowered to come forward.

"We continue to deliver on the 61 commitments contained in our Serious Violence Strategy which emphasises a renewed focus on steering young people away from violence, while continuing to ensure the strongest possible law enforcement response."