Knife crime and gang culture are drawing in younger people than ever in South Acton, according to the police officer in charge of the area.

Anxious residents raised fears about escalating levels of violent crime at a meeting this week, following a recent daylight stabbing at Ealing Common Tube station and the killing of 19-year-old Craig Marshall.

The teenager died after being knifed close to Acton police station on September 25.

One resident at the ward forum on Monday said people had become "very concerned" by the stabbings and asked what more could be done to tackle violent crime around South Acton Estate.

Sergeant Danny Williams, of South Acton Safer Neighbourhood Team, said deterring youths from becoming involved in violent crime was now a key priority.

He said: "We had a very unfortunate incident recently where a 19-year-old was stabbed to death outside the police station. The statistics around violent crime tend to remain reasonably stable, but over the past few years the age group has got younger.

"In South Acton we do suffer from a little bit of a gang culture, and we're working very hard within the team to engage with young people."

Ex-offenders are being asked to go into schools to talk to young people about the impact of knife crime and discourage them from getting involved in drugs and anti-social behaviour.

About 25 people turned up to the first South Acton Ward Forum, which was held at Acton High School.