Man fatally stabbed on British express train

LONDON, May 27 (Reuters) A man was stabbed to death on a British express train today, becoming the latest victim of a series of recent knife crimes that has seen two schoolboys stabbed -- one fatally -- over the last few days.

British Transport Police (BTP) said the passenger was travelling on the 10.05 am Glasgow in Scotland to Paignton in Devon express when he was stabbed.

Police said later that a 21-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing. Concern over knife attacks has grown in recent years and earlier this week a knife amnesty began in a bid to rid the streets of thousands of weapons.

Yesterday a 14-year-old schoolboy in Birmingham was stabbed in the abdomen and last week a promising footballer, 15-year-old Kiyan Prince, knifed to death trying to stop a fight outside his school gates in London.

Earlier this month part-time policewoman Nisha Patel-Nasri was knifed to death outside her London home.

Statistics show that 6 per cent of all violent crimes nationally are knife-related and out of 820 homicides in 2004/5, 236 involved sharp instruments. In London alone, there were 12,589 knife-related incidents last year.

REUTERS SY PM1933