A 15-YEAR-OLD boy was stabbed on his way to school after a row broke out on a number 271 bus.

The schoolboy was knifed in the arm in Holloway Road, Holloway, as he got off the bus at 8.20am on Friday.

Shopkeepers opening up for the day saw a group of teenagers flee the scene as others hung around on the pavement.

The boy, who was travelling from his Islington home to school in Barnet, was rushed to hospital for treatment.

One caf� worker, who did not want to be named, said: “A traffic warden came in and said, ‘Call the police because someone has been stabbed’. So I did. There were lots of school kids outside – boys and girls.”

Another shopkeeper, who works at an off licence, added: “The first thing I saw was people running away – about three to four students, boys and girls. Then a man was calling the police.

“The police told me that the injured boy had actually come in here afterwards. I didn’t realise he was injured. He just came in and went out. There wasn’t any blood. He was wearing a black coat.”

A third shopkeeper added: “I got here about 8.50am and there were lots of kids around. They were all girls and there were about nine of them. They were talking to the police.”

The boy, who was wearing his school uniform, is believed to be recovering well.

Detectives are trying to piece together the motive for the attack but the boy is believed to have got into an argument with other schoolchildren.

A spokeswoman for Islington police said: “Police were called at approximately 8.20am to reports of a male assaulted in Holloway Road.

“Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and discovered a male, believed aged 15, suffering a stab wound to the arm. He was treated at the scene before being taken to a local hospital - injuries are not life threatening.

“Officers retain an open mind as to the motive at this early stage.”

No arrests have yet been made.