Lambeth’s top police officer has urged residents to help police rid the borough of guns even if it means shopping a relative.

Borough commander Chief Superintendent Nick Ephgrave told the Streatham Guardian police could only “deal with things” if they knew about them.

Chief Supt Ephgrave’s appeal followed the shooting of five-year-old Thusha Kamaleswaran and Roshan Selvakumar, 35, in Stockwell, the murder of Isaiah Bovell on the Clapham Park Estate and the murder of Raymond Mitchell, in Brixton, where several gunshots were also fired outside a church on Easter Day.

He said: “I think often people don’t want members of their family to go prison.

“They are faced with a dilemma – to allow their relatives to have a gun and commit a crime and end up going to prison or to just tell us they have that gun and see them going to prison anyway.

“But if they don’t let us know about it and give us a chance to stop a crime then they are condoning what’s going to happen.”

Chief Supt Ephgrave said gun crime was down compared with the same period last year and that was a result of the force’s hard work.

He said: “If I didn't do the things I’m doing now there would be many more stabbings and shootings here.”

Chief Supt Ephgrave also emphasised there would be no cuts to the number of officers in Lambeth and he would try to ensure policing would not be affected by cuts in funding.

He said: “It’s my job to make sure the hard work we’ve been doing continues to happen.”

To report someone who has a gun call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.