A man in his 30s was taken to hospital after being stabbed in Blackstock Road on Saturday morning – in the wake of numerous complaints about gangs of drug dealers in the road.

Police and medics were called at 4.20am. The victim is stable and his injuries aren’t life-changing.

The attack came after complaints from neighbours of drug dealing and anti-social behaviour in the area.

One neighbour is moving out because of the constant operation near City and Islington College that goes on until the early hours and stops her sleeping. There is no suggestion the college is related to any of the complaints or the stabbing. She said it had only been a matter of time before something like this happened.

“There’s a gang there every single night openly drug dealing,” she told the Gazette. “They are incredibly intimidating and so brazen. Last week there was a man openly handing pills to people during the day. No one will be surprised a violent incident has happened. It’s bound to happen.”

The woman, who asked not to be named, said she had called police and council anti-social behaviour teams numerous times, but nothing had been done.

“The ASB team at Islington just fob us off,” she continued. “Police say they know it’s an issue. Well, if they know, why aren’t they acting? I understand they are completely overstretched, but it’s so bad we are moving out early.

“We can’t sleep, either. Last night at 2.30am they were screaming at the tops of their voices. Every night from about 8pm to 2am they are there.”

A council spokesman said large gatherings were the responsibility of the police rather than its own ASB team. “The council and police have been meeting recently with residents and businesses to hear local concerns, and are taking action to deal with issues that have been raised,” he added.

A police spokesman said officers in Islington, Hackney and Haringey had conducted “a number of operations” in the road to tackle drugs, ASB and violent crime and schools and colleges were helping to identify culprits.

Insp Richard Berns said: “I want to thank everyone who bravely comes forward with information that assists us in combating drug supply. We will never tolerate it.”

A man, 29, was arrested nearby on suspicion of affray. He isn’t a suspect for the stabbing. Call cops on 101 quoting CAD 1168 of May 26