A man is in hospital after being stabbed in the heart in east London when he went to buy a car from someone had had contacted on the website Gumtree.
The 42-year-old man was punched, kicked and stabbed after he followed up an advert on the site to buy a new VW Golf car; he was carrying a large amount of cash with him to buy the car when he was attacked.
Police said it has emerged since that the registered keeper of the car was unaware it was being offered for sale. The victim was treated at the scene by air ambulance and transferred to the Royal London hospital, where he underwent life-saving surgery.
Metropolitan police Detective Chief Inspector Ellie O'Connor said: 'This was a brutal attack on an innocent man who was responding to an online advertisement in good faith.'
Police said the attack to place on Barking's North Street at 15:50 BST on July 30th.
Witnesses said two men, believed to be black and in their 20s, were seen assaulting the man. Following the incident a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old youth were arrested nearby. They are both currently on bail until October 7th pending further investigation.
DCI O'Connor warned the public to take care when using classified sites such as Gumtree. She said: 'Millions of successful transactions take place on the internet every day.
'There are occasions when transactions go wrong however most of these incidents involve some form of dispute rather than criminal activity.
'Events that result in personal injury are fortunately very rare, nevertheless, if you are confident that the seller is genuine, you should still take steps to ensure your safety.
'Do not go to the meeting point alone, do not carry large amounts of cash on your person, make sure that you meet in a busy area and never allow yourself to be lured away from a safe meeting place.'
If you have information concerning this, or any other crime, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or Barking CID on 0208 217 5535.
The 42-year-old man was punched, kicked and stabbed after he followed up an advert on the site to buy a new VW Golf car; he was carrying a large amount of cash with him to buy the car when he was attacked.
Police said it has emerged since that the registered keeper of the car was unaware it was being offered for sale. The victim was treated at the scene by air ambulance and transferred to the Royal London hospital, where he underwent life-saving surgery.
Metropolitan police Detective Chief Inspector Ellie O'Connor said: 'This was a brutal attack on an innocent man who was responding to an online advertisement in good faith.'
Police said the attack to place on Barking's North Street at 15:50 BST on July 30th.
Witnesses said two men, believed to be black and in their 20s, were seen assaulting the man. Following the incident a 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old youth were arrested nearby. They are both currently on bail until October 7th pending further investigation.
DCI O'Connor warned the public to take care when using classified sites such as Gumtree. She said: 'Millions of successful transactions take place on the internet every day.
'There are occasions when transactions go wrong however most of these incidents involve some form of dispute rather than criminal activity.
'Events that result in personal injury are fortunately very rare, nevertheless, if you are confident that the seller is genuine, you should still take steps to ensure your safety.
'Do not go to the meeting point alone, do not carry large amounts of cash on your person, make sure that you meet in a busy area and never allow yourself to be lured away from a safe meeting place.'
If you have information concerning this, or any other crime, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or Barking CID on 0208 217 5535.
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