New official crime figures show knife crime has risen in the West Midlands.

West Midlands Police dealt with 3,210 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2018, statistics published today show.

That's up from 2,751 in 2017.

It means the number of offences rose by 459 in one year, an increase of 17%.

And it shows that West Midlands Police are now dealing with 61 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in an average week.

The official figures appear to confirm the evidence from a series of shocking incidents which show a wave of violence hitting the region.

Police have today launched a murder investigation after a teenager was stabbed to death in Harborne on Wednesday night.

An 18-year-old man was declared dead at the scene.

It's the latest in a series of crimes.

Earlier this week, two teens were stabbed in a violent robbery inside an Alum Rock snooker hall.

Police are also investigating after a man was stabbed in the leg close to a bus stop on Soho Road, Handsworth, on April 20.

And a 14-year-old boy, who suffers from learning difficulties, was brutally stabbed and robbed at a Dudley park on April 17.

Police Remain at the scene of the fatal stabbing in Harborne Birmingham

Three teenagers died in knife attacks in a two week period in Birmingham earlier this year.

Hazrat Umar, 17, was killed in Bordesley Green on Monday; Abdullah Muhammad, 16, died in Small Heath last week; and seven days earlier Sidali Mohamed, 16, was stabbed outside a college in Highgate.

It led to Chief Constable Dave Thompson declaring knife crime as "an emergency" and rolled out stop and search checks.

Mr Thompson has warned that the level of violence is the worst he has ever seen.

Giving evidence to a House of Commons inquiry, he said: "Overall, in terms of youth/age, yes, it is the worst. The numbers of homicide issues have not varied hugely over a period of time, but if we look at the broad mass of injuries in that space, yes, they are."

And he also warned: "Our violence rates will go up in the summer. If you look at the three murders we have had in Birmingham, they happened in a very hot 10-day period when the street population grew huge, so I brace myself for summer, because summer is very demanding on violence."

The region is not facing the problem alone, and knife crime has risen across the country. Across England and Wales there were 44,432 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2018, up from 40,026 in 2017.

Chief Constable Dave Thompson

Home Secretary Sajid Javid last week announced he was allocating an immediate £51 million for police forces across the country to help them cope with serious violence. It included £6 million for West Midlands Police.

The money will help It will fund increased patrols and weapon sweeps, equipment for officers and overtime, he said.

Mr Javid said: "Knife crime destroys lives and as Home Secretary I’m determined to do everything in my power to stamp it out.

"This funding will help the police forces worst affected by violent crime to up their response, including by increasing the number of officers out on the streets over the Easter weekend.

"The police are on the front line in the fight against serious violence and they have our full support."

Home Secretary Sajid Javid during a visit in Northfield
Home Secretary Sajid Javid during a visit in Northfield

Diane Abbott, Labour's Shadow Home Secretary, highlighted cuts to police funding. While funding rose this year, it has been cut or frozen in previous years since 2010.

She said: "Members of the public and police officers are both increasingly concerned about the growth of serious crime including knife crime.

"But Ministers are in denial, refusing to accept that their cuts to police forces have had any impact either on crime levels or the ability to apprehend the criminals.

“The government is failing in one of its most basic duties, to protect its own citizens. These reckless cuts must end.”