Police at the scene of the stabbing in Holloway

PASSERS-BY rushed to the aid of a man who was stabbed in Holloway Road on Wednesday afternoon.

Witnesses described seeing a man collapsed with two stab wounds in his back in the middle of the busy road just after 4pm near Holloway Road tube station. The victim, who is believed to be in his 20s, is alive and his injuries are not being treated as life-threatening. The suspected attacker was arrested within 10 minutes of the stabbing, according to police at the scene.

One witness, Aaron, a part-time security guard, was shopping in 308 Hobbies when he saw a commotion outside the store. Initially, he thought someone had been knocked off their bike.

He said: “I tried to stop the bleeding. People had a cloth and a T-shirt, they whacked it on. I asked for another and pressed and pressed. He [the victim] said he had trouble breathing. He said, ‘look, am I going to die?’, I said, ‘no you’re not because you’re talking’.”

He added: “I did what I know and tried to keep people calm. I know this might sound silly but my mum is a retired nurse, and I learnt a little bit of first aid off her, just enough to get by.”

A 17-year-old has been arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent and was taken to a north London police station. He was still in custody yesterday (Thursday). The stretch of Holloway Road between Tollington Road and Hornsey Road, which was closed by police shortly after the stabbing, was reopened on Wednesday at 11.30pm.

The incident follows an increase in knife crime in the capital that saw 11 people stabbed to death during a two-week period in May.