The Metropolitan Police stepped up their presence in Thornton Heath this morning (Monday, November 9) after two girls were stabbed in the area last week.

Officers from Croydon MPS said they would be carrying out "reassurance and crime prevention patrols" in Thornton Heath this week after fears rose over violent crime following the two separate knife attacks.

The Met Police's Inspector James Weston posted a video shared on social media where he described the response police were taking to the incident.

"As you are probably aware, there has been a couple of incidents where two school girls have been stabbed in the area.

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"We're all out here making sure that everyone can see police in the area. Feel free to come and talk to us and share information," he said.

As the Croydon Guardian reported previously, the two school girls stabbed last week, both aged 15, were attacked in two separate incidents just days apart on Wednesday, November 4, and Friday, November 6.

The first happened sometime before 9am on Wednesday.

At the scene on Moffat Road, Croydon, emergency services found a 15-year-old girl who had been approached by a stranger and stabbed in the leg. She was later taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The second stabbing took place around 48 hours later, on Friday, when another 15-year-old girl was found on St Paul’s Road in Croydon after she was stabbed by a stranger in the arm.

Similarly, she was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A 15-year-old boy was arrested by the Met Police "in the early hours of Sunday, 8 November at a residential address" in connection to the stabbings.

He is now in custody at a South London police station.