Gang crime in west London fell by seven per cent last year, according to figures obtained by getwestlondon.

A total of 127 crimes in the area were flagged as gang-related during 2013/14, compared with 136 during the previous financial year.

That represents an overall fall of nearly seven per cent for the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow.

Brent was responsible for nearly half the gang-related activity in those boroughs last year, figures released by the Metropolitan Police under the Freedom of Information Act reveal.

A total of 63 crimes committed in the borough during 2013/14 were tagged with a 'gang activity related' marker - a sharp fall from the 77 gang-flagged offences there the previous year.

In Ealing there were 26 gang-flagged crimes last year, up from 25 in 2012/13, with 11 recorded in Hammersmith & Fulham (10 in 2012/13), 20 in Harrow (17), three in Hounslow (five) and four in Hillingdon (two).

The gang marker means all these crimes, which include robbery, rape and murder, are believed by police to involve offenders connected in some way with organised gangs.

Knives were suspected to have been involved in 44 of those offences, and guns in 23. That does not necessarily mean those weapons were used, just that they were present or believed to be present.

In May, the Met's Trident Gang Crime Command team was called in to investigate after two shootings in Hammersmith and Notting Hill in the space of just over 24 hours.

Last month, officers from Trident investigated a shooting in Hounslow, in which a 19-year-old was injured.

GANG-FLAGGED CRIMES IN WEST LONDON DURING 2013/14 (2012/13)

Brent 63 (77)

Ealing 26 (25)

Hammersmith & Fulham 11 (10)

Harrow 20 (17)

Hillingdon 4 (2)

Hounslow 3 (5)

Total 127 (136)