Knife crime among under-18s has risen dramatically, a new report revealed.

Statistics published by Merton Council showed 19 offenders aged 17 or younger committed knife crime in the borough in 2010-11.

The figure for 2009-10 was 12, and for the year before 13. A spate of recent high profile knife crime incidents linked to the borough include the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Seydou Diarrassouba from Mitcham, who was killed in central London on Boxing Day.

Of the 19 offenders, 15 were from Mitcham – with six from the Cricket Green Ward – while the remaining four are from Morden. The youngest offender was just 13.

The report, produced for a meeting of the council’s children and young people scrutiny panel yesterday, recommends that a new joint plan to tackle knife crime be drawn up by the police, schools and probation services.

It also calls for initiatives led by parents and young people.

The report said a survey of teenage users of knives and weapons, carried out by Merton Youth Justice Service, that found 86 per cent of them had either been knife crime victims themselves or knew someone who was.

Colliers Wood resident Eshil Varatharasan, 16, said: “Because of violence my parents are really scared to let me out and when I’m out with my friends I’m not comfortable.

“You don’t see a lot of police walking down the street. It’s not that bad here but when I read the news it’s frightening.”

William Carderioo, 17 and also from Colliers Wood, said: “It’s a bit worrying but after a while you just don’t see it as a big thing anymore. You can tell when something is about to happen and get out. The main issue is dealing with the parents – because they are just children.”

But the report suggested knives are rarely used in the classroom. It said: “School-based incidents are rare and do not appear to be rising based on exclusion data.”

Chris Mallaband, headteacher at St Mark’s Academy in Mitcham, said: “I think it is really important to avoid any discussion that would alarm people because Merton schools are very safe.”