TRADERS want more CCTV cameras to help cut crime after a man was found shot and stabbed in a car.

The 22-year-old was found outside a 21st birthday party outside Praba Banqueting Suite, Ilford, in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Business owners say the attack, less than 200 metres from Ilford Police Station, could have been avoided if CCTV footage was regularly monitored.

Redbridge Council has 250 cameras across the borough which are used to fine people parking illegally, as well as assisting police into anti-social behaviour investigations.

But Maqbal Ahamd, who owns Printec Printers, in Green Lane, Ilford, said they are not used effectively.

The 57-year-old told the Ilford Guardian: “Nobody ever asks anything when a car gets parked on a yellow line because they know who it is thanks to CCTV.

“But when there’s a crime, the police always have to come around and ask. And this isn’t the first incident to happen outside the police station.”

He claims he regularly hears about violence crimes but claims people are too scared to report anything over fear of repercussions.

He added: “People have been robbed in their shops on this street, held up at gun point, but nobody does anything.”

Ibrahim Oz says he was forced to close the dry cleaners he owned opposite Ilford High Road after crime in the area got so bad.

The 43-year-old said: “It’s no good, it is happening here a lot.”

The aftermath of Sundays’ attack was described as a “war-zone” as police swarmed the area. The victim’s injuries are not life-threatening and one man has been arrested for affray.

The Metropolitan Police crime map shows 13 robberies and 53 violent or sexual offences reported in Ilford town centre in November 2016.

The attack, combined with the statistics, have left people feeling afraid.

Louise Finchley, 43, said: “I have lived Ilford my whole life, and the crime is getting worse.

“You need to have eyes in the back of your head nowadays. I don’t even walk around with earphones in.

“There are no police patrolling Ilford at all.

“Yesterday as I walked through the subway a policeman told me off for laughing.”