Call for action after five street stabbings

The following night another four young men were discovered with stab wounds following a large fight outside Al Fakher's Shisha Garden, near the junction with Hetley Road.

Police found an 18-year-old who had been stabbed in the buttocks and a 19-year-old with a wound to the abdomen that they feared might be life threatening. He recovered in hospital and was discharged the next day.

Two others aged 18 and 20 made their own way to Ealing Hospital after the brawl, one with wounds to the leg and buttocks and the other with a stab wound on his back.

The men, who are all black, refused to talk to police about what had happened.

Shaun Bailey, the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Hammersmith, believes gangs of troublemakers from outside the area are being attracted to unregulated shisha cafés, which can operate outside licensing laws if they do not serve alcohol or hot food and drinks.

He said: "Residents and businesses around the Uxbridge Road area are being exposed to unacceptable levels of anti-social behaviour.

"These violent incidents, while horrendous, are the tip of an iceberg that has been growing over recent years.

"Local cafes are increasingly drawing in large numbers of people from outside of the borough, resulting in increased levels of affray, vandalism and drug dealing, as well as late night noise pollution, littering, congestion and a lack of available parking. Residents are reporting that the quality of life has been severely damaged."

Mr Bailey is now calling for tougher regulation covering shisha cafés as well as venues selling alcohol late into the night.

"This is yet another failure of Labour's Licensing Act, that has turned town centres up and down Britain into no-go zones, allowing alcohol to be served through the night, yet does nothing to deal with the problems being faced by residents along Uxbridge Road," he said. "This must change."

Police claim neither of the stabbing incidents was gang-related. One suspect was arrested following the December 27 attack and investigations are ongoing.

Superintendent William Lyle, of Hammersmith and Fulham Police, said: "We are working with the local authority, residents, businesses and community leaders to ensure all appropriate steps are taken to prevent any further offences.

"We are providing continued reassurance patrols and our officers continue to speak to the community on a daily basis."