Two men who used weapons including a 12-inch “zombie knife” to stab three teenage boys during the Notting Hill Carnival have been jailed for 15 years each, police said.
Eddie Mombele, 24, and Jordan Clarke, 20, went on a rampage at the cultural event in west London in August 2016, attacking two boys aged 15 and a third of 16.
Two of their victims received serious wounds, including one 15-year-old who required emergency surgery after being knifed in the buttocks, abdomen and arm, police said.
They were among four people stabbed at the carnival, which has been criticised as often being a focal point for street violence.
At the 2016 event more than 400 people were arrested, including 60 for possessing an offensive weapon.
Mombele and Clarke, who were 22 and 19 respectively at the time of the attacks, were jailed at the Old Bailey on Thursday, the Metropolitan Police said, following a trial last late last year.
Detective Inspector Driss Hayoukane paid tribute to the victims’ bravery, after they all gave evidence at the trial.
DI Hayoukane added: “Sunday at Notting Hill Carnival is traditionally Children’s Day – a happy event to be enjoyed by thousands of children and their families – however, these two men came to carnival armed with a ‘zombie’ knife and a flick knife, intent on seriously injuring innocent carnival goers.
“During the trial, Clarke did not give evidence and Mombele gave evidence denying the offences and blaming Clarke for the assaults.
“One of the victims spent two weeks in hospital and it is only due to the skill of the surgeons that he has made a good recovery.”
The crowd on Ladbroke Grove during the Children’s Day parade at the Notting Hill Carnival in west London in 2016 (Isabel Infantes/PA)
The first victim, the 15-year-old who required surgery, was attacked on Wornington Road at around 4.15pm on August 28 2016. He spent two weeks in hospital, police said.
Just under an hour later, at 5.10pm, they struck twice in quick succession in Ladbroke Grove, stabbing the 16-year-old in the stomach and leaving the second 15-year-old needing stitches to a leg wound.
Mombele, of Talbot Road, Notting Hill, and Clarke, of Adair Road in nearby Ladbroke Grove, were convicted of three counts of GBH.
Mombele was also convicted of possession of a flick knife and Clarke of the zombie knife.
They each received 15 years, 12 years and eight years for the three GBHs, to run concurrently, police said.