Children may be more vulnerable to becoming a stabbing victim on their way home from school, a new study suggests.

In the last week alone, Jay Hughes who was 15-year-old was murdered in Bellingham, a 16-year-old was stabbed to death in Tulse Hill, a 17-year-old was killed in Clapham South and a 22-year-old was stabbed to death by a gang in Anerley.

The period immediately after classes end accounts for a large proportion of stabbings involving young victims, and these predominantly occur close to home and school, according to new research published in the journal BMJ Open.

The authors highlight how the "incidence of interpersonal violence involving knives" has progressively increased in the UK in recent years.

The research team analysed data on 1,824 people aged 25 and under who had been treated for a stab injury at a London trauma centre over the course of 11 years.

Of these, 172 were children, 861 were aged 16 to 19, and 791 were aged 20 to 24.

Timings and locations of stabbings were collated from ambulance service data as well as information from the hospital trauma registry.

The frequency of stab injuries rose sharply in the late teenage years, reaching a peak at age 18 before gradually declining.

Children were more likely to be stabbed on a school day than the older age group.

Among children, the researchers noted a "significant peak in frequency" between 4pm and 6pm.

The authors wrote: "In children the spike in frequency in the late afternoon and early evening was attributable to incidents occurring on school days.

"The majority of stabbings in this time frame on school days occurred within 5km of home, which encompasses the average distance from home to school in children living in London."

This means that a "targeted preventative strategy" could help reduce stabbings among youngsters, according to the researchers from Queen Mary University of London, London Ambulance Service, Newcastle University, Barts Health NHS Trust and South East Coast Ambulance Service.

In the last week alone, Jay Hughes who was 15-year-old was murdered in Bellingham, a 16-year-old was stabbed to death in Tulse Hill, a 17-year-old was killed in Clapham South and a 22-year-old was stabbed to death by a gang in Anerley.