Two men stepped in to restrain a teenager armed with a Rambo knife outside the Kingsland Shopping Centre yesterday afternoon.

One of the men - who the Gazette understands was acting to “protect his son from a gang” - is believed to have been stabbed at least 10 times in his back and chest in the struggle.

The man aged 45 is in a stable condition in hospital, and Scotland Yard said his stab wound injuries are “not thought to be life threatening”.

Police officers became aware of the incident at 1.45pm yesterday afternoon, while on routine patrol.

They were alerted to a fight in Kingsland High Street where they discovered two men restraining a teenager who was holding a knife.

A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and was taken to an east London hospital for treatment of a minor injury.

He was then taken to an east London police station and arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.

Det Insp Paul Ridley said: “This incident occurred in the middle of the afternoon when the area was bustling with shoppers. We need to ensure that we establish a full sequence of events and I would therefore strongly urge any persons who may have footage captured on mobile telephone or witnessed the incident to come forward to the investigation team.”

Anyone with information, or who may have filmed the assault, is asked to contact officers on 07825 793215 or via 101.

To give information anonymously, please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or visit crimestoppers-uk.org.