A 15-year-old boy has been stabbed to death in London, police said on Saturday, the first violent teenage death in the capital this year after a spate of such killings last year.

The youth was stabbed in Plaistow, east London, and taken to hospital where he died shortly afterwards. Two people have been arrested in connection with the boy's death, police said.

Last year, 28 teenagers were killed in violent incidents in London, fuelling a national debate over youth crime, gangs and the state of British society.

Police launched a crackdown on knife crime and said it had reduced the number of stabbings in the second half of the year.

Police said that in a separate incident at the weekend, a boy, 14, suffered a fire arm wound to the head. He is in a stable condition in hospital.