The rate of serious knife crime in Norwich has overtaken some areas of London.

Eastern Daily Press: Officers were called to reports that two women, aged in their 60s and 70s, had sustained knife injuries outside an address in Riverside Road. Picture: Neil PerryOfficers were called to reports that two women, aged in their 60s and 70s, had sustained knife injuries outside an address in Riverside Road. Picture: Neil Perry (Image: Archant)

Police figures, compiled by the BBC, show that while London remains the most dangerous city in the country, the rate of serious knife offences in Norwich has doubled in two years.

Norfolk police said county lines drug dealing is partly to blame for the increase.

Describing the growing number of young people carrying blades as "concerning", police said officers were working with schools and parents to stop offences.

A police spokesman said: "While it is important to secure prosecutions when these crimes happen, our focus is on preventing knife crime from happening in the first place and this cannot be done by policing alone.

"This is an issue for society as a whole and it is important we work with partner agencies and the local community to continue educating people around the risks of carrying knives."

With an average of 10 incidents per 10,000 people in 2018, Norwich now has a higher rate of serious knife crime than Barnet, Harrow, Richmond, Kingston, Sutton, Bromley and Bexley.

The majority of the county, however, is still one of the safest areas in England.

Two men were hospitalised following a stabbing incident outside Norwich railway station on November 14 2018.

Eastern Daily Press: A teen was stabbed in a gang attack in Mountbatten Drive , Old Catton, in March 2019. Picture Peter WalshA teen was stabbed in a gang attack in Mountbatten Drive , Old Catton, in March 2019. Picture Peter Walsh (Image: Archant)

Earlier this year, a teenage boy was stabbed and stamped on in an attack in Mountbatten Drive, Old Catton on March 22.

Meanwhile, on June 19 this year, Shaun Hayes, 28, of Penn Grove, Norwich, was sentenced to 16 years in custody after he admitted stabbing a taxi driver during a spate of robberies in the city in March.

Elsewhere in Norfolk, the number of serious knife crime were considerably lower, with the rate of offences in south Norfolk and Broadland at 1.1 per 10,000 people, north Norfolk at 1.2 and west Norfolk at 2.2.

While the entire county has seen a slight increase in knife crimes between 2016 and 2018, Breckland had seen a decrease and had the lowest rate of incidents at 0.9 per 10,000 people.

Great Yarmouth had the second highest rate of serious knife crimes at 5.5 followed by Waveney at 3.4.