SHOPKEEPERS have described their horror after an Albany Park gang fight that left a teenager in hospital spilled into shops in Hertford Road on Saturday.

Two rival gangs – carrying guns, machetes and hammers – chased each other down the street after a fight broke out in a chicken shop, before a 16-year-old boy was stabbed in the hand causing a serious injury.

The Enfield Independent understands that the victim, who remains in a stable condition in hospital, was attempting to fire a gun when he stabbed, and police have arrested him for possession of a firearm.

One shopowner, who refused to be named for fear of reprisals, described how the gangs ran through her shop – knocking a four-year-old child to the ground and terrifying customers.

She said: “My family won't come to the shop because they are terrified. We've been here for 25 years but we're seriously thinking about whether we want to stay now.

“This has been going on for three years now and somebody needs to do something about it – people are moving away because they're scared and it's killing the area.”

The attack comes just two weeks after hundreds of teenagers marched through Edmonton to protest against gun and knife crime and the postcode war between N9 and N18 gangs that is blighting the east side of the borough.

Peace march organiser Hazel Nelson-Williams is working with Enfield Council on a scheme to educate youngsters at an early age in school and give them positive role models.

Enfield North MP Nick de Bois said he was “appalled” by Saturday's fight, and added that he wanted to see anybody caught with a knife given an automatic six-month jail sentence.

He said: “I've been campaigning for this in Parliament and it's something I will be petitioning the Justice Secretary for.

“If you take someone off the streets for six months, not only does it stop them committing crime but it gives you a chance to talk to them and try to reform them.”

Prime Minister David Cameron made a pledge backing the idea in June, after criticism that his Government was too soft on sentencing.

Enfield Police arrested seven men aged between 15 and 25 in relation to the fight – all have been released on bail.

Detectives are keeping an open mind about the motive of the attack but said that gang-related activity was one line of enquiry.

Anyone with information should call Detective Sergeant Tony Killeen of Enfield CID on 0208 345 4334 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.