An extra 300 Met Police officers are being deployed in areas of London worst affected by a spate of violent crime.

Six people have been killed in shootings and stabbings in the capital in the past seven days.

Commissioner Cressida Dick denied her officers had lost control of the streets as calls have been made to make more use of stop-and-search powers.

Three boys - aged between 13 and 16 - have been charged in connection with the serious wounding of a boy, aged 13.

The teenager, from Newham, east London, remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being stabbed on Thursday - one of six non-fatal stabbings that took place between Thursday night and Friday morning in the capital.

The Home Office said stop-and-search powers should be used in a "targeted way" and was taking action to restrict weapons.

Former Met Police Commissioner Lord Blair said it was a "sensible tactic" - but called for more funding for neighbourhood policing.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "If you take 20% of the Met's money away, something gives.

"This is a result, in part, of there not being enough officers visible on streets."

'Chill effect'

Chief Constable Sara Thornton, the chairwoman of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said stop-and-search should not be used randomly but could work in crime hotspots.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, she said officers were reluctant to use the powers because of what she described as the "chill effect" of political correctness.

She said policing "cannot address the social conditions that lead to violence" but while "stop and search or arrests are not a silver bullet, they are an important tool in helping to protect the public from violent crime".

The rising wave of violent crime meant the number of suspected murders in London in March was higher than that of New York.

Ms Dick admitted the Met was "stretched" but said her officers were doing "everything they can" to reduce street crime.

Earlier, Ms Dick appealed for support from the public for justice to be served as it emerged the Met has opened 55 murder investigations this year.

She said: "This is not an unprecedented time, but it is a very worrying time."

On Monday, 17-year-old Tanesha Melbourne-Blake was shot dead in Tottenham and Amaan Shakoor, 16, died on Tuesday soon after being found with bullet wounds in Walthamstow.

A 30-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Tanesha, who was killed in a drive-by attack as she was with friends.

The extra officers will be on duty across the weekend with one police team on Friday evening describing finding more weapons and more gangs on London's streets.

The extra police presence has led to calls for officers to make more use of those powers to stop and search people who they think might be involved in violent crime.

Sgt Paul Perversi from the Met's Territorial Support Group said stop-and-search efforts on members of the public had been increasingly uncovering weapons.

Prime Minister Theresa May curbed the use of the controversial tactic when she was home secretary amid concerns black people were being unfairly targeted.

A Section 60 order, under which officers can make "any search they think fit" but does not allow the blanket use of stop-and-search powers, was in place in the Borough of Newham until 06:00 BST on Saturday.

The Home Office said: "Our new Serious Violence Strategy will put a stronger focus on steering young people away from violence whilst continuing to ensure the strongest possible law enforcement response.

"We have been clear that stop and search is a vital policing tool and officers will always have the government's full support to use these powers properly - in a targeted and intelligence-led way."