Gun crime in London is rocketing, with increases of almost 90 per cent in some firearms offences, Scotland Yard revealed today.

New figures show London murders with guns increased by 87 per cent in the first eight months of the year compared with the same period last year.

There were significant rises in virtually all offences involving firearms. Armed muggings increased from 435 to 667, a rise of 53 per cent.

Senior officers said the dramatic increase was driven mainly by links with organised crime and drug trafficking.

The 16 murders involving black gangsters fighting for control of London's crack cocaine market represent a leap of 77 per cent.

Commander Alan Brown, head of the Operation Trident taskforce against "black on black" gun crime, described the increase s as "an extremely worrying development".

Overall, he said there had been a 20 per cent increase in armed crime in London. "The level of violence is increasing, there is no doubt about that," he said. "We have seen shootings in the West End. This is not just happening in Hackney or Brent, this is a problem for all of London."

Mr. Brown said he was particularly worried about the scale of "black on black" gun crime and revealed 74 attempted murders had involved black gunmen this year, the first time these figures have been compiled.

"These were clear attempts to kill and it is only because of poor marksmanship or poor ammunition that these people were not killed. It seems to be often a matter of luck whether you suffer an injury or you die."

Lambeth was still the hot spot for gun crime involving armed drug-dealing gangsters, while other high-crime areas included Hackney, Haringey, Brent and Camden.

Mr. Brown said it was estimated that four ton of cocaine were smuggled into Britain every year on flights from Jamaica, and police had identified a clear link between firearms crime and drug trafficking.

Senior officers are particularly concerned about the rise in robberies involving guns, although they point out most are likely to be imitation.

Mr. Brown said: "Black communities are coming to the stage where they are saying enough is enough. They are more supportive of us than they were three years ago.

"We are talking about black criminals committing offences against the black community. There is no doubt that the majority of suspects in street robberies are black.

"If you look at the majority of suspects committing armed commercial robbery, the suspects are black. This is a shift from years ago when most armed commercial robberies were committed by whites."

Mr. Brown said police were recovering a range of weapons, from reactivated guns to sophisticated weapons such as Uzi submachineguns. Drug gangsters who were arrested or killed were quickly replaced, he said.

© Associated Newspapers Ltd., 19 December 2001