Police have slammed the “senseless violence” that led to a 16-year-old boy being stabbed on the Woodberry Down Estate – and appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Officers were called to reports of a mass brawl in Green Lanes Walk at 6.40pm on Monday and the victim is now in serious but stable condition in hospital.

Three boys, all 17, and a 19-year-old man, all of Hackney, were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and have been bailed until mid May.

Det Con Luke Martinez from the Central East Command Unit said a number of enquiries were now taking place to identify the attacker, and appealed for information.

He said: “I am shocked by the level of violence shown in this nasty assault.

“I urge anyone with information, or who witnessed what happened, to get in touch. You might hold vital information that could help us to clarify the events leading up to, during, or following this assault.

“Police were on scene within minutes of the incident. I hope the four arrests that we have made offer some reassurance to the local community. Senseless violence will never be tolerated and we never stop working hard to reduce violence and apprehend those committing it.”

Anyone with information or footage of the incident can call police on 101 quoting 6478/6APRIL, tweet @MetCC or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.

Do you know about someone who is carrying a knife or you suspect is involved in crime? If you have information that could help keep your community safe, but don’t want to speak to police, please contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. They do not ask your name and cannot trace your call or I.P address.

Any young people who have information about violence or knife crime, can visit fearless.org where they can pass on information anonymously. Fearless is part of the Crimestoppers charity, and is also independent of the police.