Man stabbed to death on estate named as residents say police presence in area has disappeared

By Harrison Galliven, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents of the New Addington estate claim a lack of council and police engagement in the area needs drastically improving.

The estate, which sits on the edge of Croydon borough, saw the fatal stabbing of a 20-year-old man at around 6pm on Tuesday and a second 19-year-old man taken to a London major trauma centre.

The man who was killed has been named as Bradley Hutchins and was pronounced dead at the scene. His family are being supported by specialist officers.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as a stab wound.

A 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder and has been bailed to return on a date in mid-October.

Residents living near the crime scene believe more can be done to stop violence in the area.

The leafy post-war estate has previously historically suffered from poor connectivity with metropolitan Croydon and has experienced waves of violent crime in the past.

Resident Tony Courtman, 80, said: ““You don’t see any police patrols around here, but you used to. Guess it’s cutbacks, but it ain’t the police’s fault.

“When we moved here in 1973 there were plenty of coppers around. The worst thing they did was get rid of the patrol cars and stop the officer on the beat.”

Another resident named Angie echoed the lack of police visibility in the area which, according to the most recent census data, is home to over 22,000 people.

She said: “Only occasionally do you get police around here. When you live in the area you’re used to it. Yes it’s unsafe but a lot of Croydon boroughs are unsafe.”

Detective Inspector Jason Fitzpatrick, leading the investigation, said: “We have spoken to several people as part of our enquiries, however we believe there may be others who witnessed the incident or the moments leading up to it and would ask them to come forward.

“We are continuing to review CCTV and would also ask anyone who has a video doorbell, or who was driving in the area with a dash cam, to please check their footage.

“It is vital that we establish what happened and locate those responsible.”

In response to these claims, the Met said: “First and foremost our thoughts are with the friends and family of the young man who tragically lost his life.

“We know that there will be significant concerns within the wider community in New Addington and you will see additional officers in the area, while we continue to investigate this tragic crime.

“Local teams in Croydon have worked hard to build up a good working relationship with third sector organisations, faith groups and wider community groups in the area.

“As a result we have been able to work with local organisations to provide diversionary activity for young people in the area, carry out multi-agency patrols  with third sector organisations, and work closely with members of the community to provide training for our new recruits.”

A spokesman for Croydon council said, “Keeping our communities safe is a top priority for Croydon and we are saddened that a young person has lost their life to knife crime.

“In the last 18 months we have introduced more outreach programmes in New Addington to engage young people with activities and support. This summer we awarded £30,000 to PlayPlace to support young people through sports, music activities and workshops on self-esteem, decision-making and knife crime.

“Weekly outreach sessions include the Youth Hub at The Fieldway Family Centre with workshops and football coaching in partnership with Palace For Life, and a weekly youth bus to engage young people and signpost to activities.”

Pictured top: New Addington’s North Walk after the fatal stabbing on Tuesday (Picture: Harrison Galliven)