The shocking murder of Henry Compton schoolboy Sofyen Belamouadden, knifed to death by a pack of teenagers at Victoria Station last month, has propelled the emotive issue of teenagers and blades back up the news agenda.

This newspaper has also reported several more knife incidents in Fulham, most recently the case of the man stabbed in the neck after a minor altercation in a North End Road pub, and at least three knifings, believed to be gang related, in and around the area's Clem Attlee Estate.

To add to a sense of growing unease among residents, figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed last year there were 42 knife crimes in the borough which the police classed as 'serious', which was up from 35 the previous year.

Just six weeks ago, Munster Road tradesman Steve Chambers was stabbed in the backside after he tried to come to the rescue of a man being 'slapped and kicked around' by a group of teenagers at a bus stop opposite the shop where he worked, Mr Central Heating.

"They were circling him," recalls Steve, a father-of-four. "It was almost animalistic and it was clear he was in a lot of trouble. There were loads of people around but no one did anything and it was getting silly. So I came out and pushed one of them off him. Didn't hit him, just pushed him off. The next thing I know they are steaming into me. I fell over and, as I was getting back up, they stuck a knife into me."

Steve has lived in London all his life. Well built, not only had he never considered his personal safety an issue on the streets he has lived and worked in for forty years, but, just like on that sunny afternoon a few weeks ago, he would never have hesitated in stepping in to break-up trouble. Now, he is not so sure.

"I hope I would do the same thing, but I don't know. A lot of people have told me I was a fool for getting involved but can you just stand by and watch someone getting attacked?

"On the other side you're no good to anyone if you're dead. I have never been nervous in my life but this has shocked me – broad daylight and you could be killed. Twenty years ago you would never have heard of anyone carrying a knife, but it seems to be part of the teenage culture now."

Despite Steve's experience, Sergeant Paul Condren, in charge of Fulham Reach Safer Neighbourhood Team, firmly disagrees the area has a problem and insists recent incidents merely represent a statistical anomaly.

"Residents are no more in danger than they have been in the past and Fulham is not a dangerous place to live, I can assure you," he said.

"We do not have a problem with knife crime here. Yes, one incident is one too many, and we are working all the time to eradicate it, but residents are not unsafe. If we believe there is a problem we will act on it."

He is also keen to stress it is not just teenagers carrying weapons, pointing out the stabing outside the Goose in North End Road, for example, involved men in the their 30s. But he does concede targeting school children and college students is very much on his team's agenda.

Officers are regularly and strategically placed at trouble hot-spots after school and 'knife arches', which can detect blades, are installed inside education centres.

Most recently one was erected at West London College and yielded precisely zero weapons, proof, says Sgt Condren, that the message is getting through.

"Kids do not want to be seen by their mates getting carted off by the police", he said. "A lot of our work is in deterring kids and trying to change their attitudes – what they do now will have an impact on the rest of their lives."

The impact on Steve's life has been immense and, no matter what the efforts of the police, the scars, both mental and physical, from his attack are unlikely to heal.

His message to knife carriers is perhaps the most pertinent of all. "If you had killed me and ended my life, your life would have been over too. Is it really worth the risk?"