One dead after stabbing rampage

Forensic teams are at the scene of the attacks

A man died and five people were seriously hurt after a knifeman went on the rampage in north London.

Police say the attacks, carried out by a man in a red car, took place over a period of an hour within a six mile area of Edmonton and Haringey.

The knifeman drove between the locations before springing out of the vehicle to attack random victims.

A 58-year-old man died of his wounds in hospital and police later arrested a 30-year-old man near his home.

A police spokesman said the victim, whose identity has not yet been released, leaves a wife and children.

The spokesman said the man being held in connection with the attacks had a history of mental illness.

A man came inside the garage and he was bleeding and said, 'somebody just stabbed me in the stomach' Witness Police search for motive Witnesses tell of events Most mentally ill 'no threat'

Enfield borough commander Ch Supt O'Brien said the motivation for the attacks was not known.

He added: "It's very difficult to know what prompted this. The first victim was a man who was walking to the station to go to work.

"He had just left his girlfriend when he was stabbed a couple of times in the back. He thought he had been punched and carried on.

"The calls then started coming in thick and fast and we realised we were probably dealing with the same guy stabbing people."

Timeline: London stabbings

A suspect was arrested by unarmed officers as he got out of a Hyundai near his home in Tottenham, north London. A knife has also been recovered.

Ch Supt O'Brien added: "We could be dealing with a person who has mental illness, certainly the person in custody has a history of mental illness."

He said 100 police officers were involved in the case.

"It seems the man was getting out of his vehicle, picking people at random, stabbing them and then getting back in his vehicle," he said.

This man came out of a car and then stabbed this person in the back... I was really frightened A shopkeeper near to the first attack

A witness to one of the attacks told BBC News: "A man came inside the garage and he was bleeding and said, 'somebody just stabbed me in the stomach'.

"We gave him tissue and a wrapping and were holding tissues so the blood wouldn't come out. He was shocked and very nervous."

Police said they were first called out to the area at 0820 GMT to reports of a stabbing outside Edmonton Green train station and then attended four other incidents over the next hour.

A shopkeeper near to the first attack told BBC News: "This man came out of a car and then stabbed this person in the back. He then went off. I was really frightened."

The victim who died was the last to be found at 0927 GMT in Advent Way.

Emergency surgery

A spokeswoman for the North Middlesex Hospital in Edmonton said a woman, aged 30, had been transferred to the London Heart Hospital where she was undergoing surgery.

Three men, aged 30, 49 and 76, have undergone emergency surgery.

The 30-year-old was in a "life-threatening" condition, the elderly man was in a serious state and the third was recovering.

A 29-year-old man - the first victim outside Edmonton Green station - was also taken to hospital.

The incident comes one day after shopkeeper Mahmut Fahri was knifed to death in Wood Green, north London - just 1.4 miles from the first stabbing.

He was stabbed in the chest by two thieves who stole two bottles of spirits from his grocery store.

Mike Rye, the leader of Enfield Council, described the attacks as "most shocking".

He added: "There is a lot of concern in the community about extreme violent crimes at present."

Police have appealed for any witnesses to contact the incident room on 0208 345 1585.