A 22-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was stabbed to death in north London.  The "shocking attack" took place at around 11.50am on Thursday, in Burnt Oak Broadway, Edgware.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police, London Ambulance Service and London's Air Ambulance all attended but the woman died at the scene. Police believe the woman was aged in her 60s.

The suspect was arrested in the Colindale area on Thursday afternoon. He remains in custody.

Detective Superintendent Tony Bellis said the arrest was a "significant development" in the investigation as officers are still trying to establish what happened. It is currently unknown if the victim was known to the suspect.

"I would urge people to refrain from speculating about the circumstances while this work is ongoing," DSI Bellis said. "A family has been left devastated by this shocking attack and my thoughts are with them at this unimaginably difficult time." Recent data has shown that across the UK, knife crime has been on the rise recently.

It increased by 7% from the year ending December 2022 to December 2023 and is up 81% over the last decade. London and the West Midlands have some of the highest levels of knife crime in England and Wales.

The Met recorded that knife crime was up by a fifth from 2022 to 2023, with three in 10 knife crimes in 2023 recorded in the capital city..