Police were hunting a knife-wielding gang of 15 youths who attacked and stabbed two men in Islington.

The men were surrounded as they tried to leave Packington Square – where people said gangs were making their lives a misery.

Aged 29 and 26, they were with two women and had been visiting a friend. Upon leaving, they were followed by the gang, who shouted abuse.

When their car failed to start because of a flat battery, the 29-year-old, from Waterloo, was stabbed three times in the side. The 26-year-old, from Muswell Hill, sustained a two-inch cut to his forehead.

Both were discharged from Whittington Hospital, but Det Sgt Pierre Davidson said: “If they had been wearing thinner clothing, the wounds could have been serious.”