Man dies in canal near Notting Hill Carnival as 560 arrested over two days
A man in his 20s died after entering a canal near Notting Hill Carnival on Monday. Police made 560 arrests across the two-day event and seized 62 weapons.
Man dies in canal near Notting Hill Carnival; 560 arrests and 62 weapons seized
A man in his 20s died after entering a canal near Notting Hill Carnival on Bank Holiday Monday, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed, as officers made a total of 560 arrests across the two-day event.
According to the Daily Express, officers on duty as part of the carnival policing operation attempted to stop the man at around 3.19pm in the vicinity of Harrow Road as he approached the event. He fled on foot with officers in pursuit.
A short time later he entered the water near Meanwhile Gardens. Officers and members of the public went in after him and pulled him from the canal. CPR was started immediately, and paramedics continued treatment at the canal side before transporting him by ambulance to a central London hospital. He was pronounced dead at 4.43pm. Urgent enquiries are ongoing to locate and inform his next of kin.
560 arrests, including 315 on Monday alone
The Metropolitan Police said the carnival passed "largely without incident" despite the significant number of arrests. By 8.30pm on Monday, 315 people had been detained, bringing the two-day total to 560 — a figure police said was likely to rise slightly as later arrests were processed.
Officers seized 62 weapons across both days, including a handgun recovered on Monday afternoon. There were two knife assaults — one stabbing and one slashing — neither of which resulted in life-threatening injuries.
Forty-eight of Monday's arrests followed identifications made using live facial recognition technology, which also allowed officers to stop 43 registered sex offenders to check compliance with licence conditions. Three were arrested for breaching those conditions, in addition to three arrested for similar breaches on Sunday.
Eight-year-old found safe after going missing
Earlier on Monday, police issued an appeal for the public's help in locating Shawn, an eight-year-old boy who was separated from his parents at around 4.42pm on Wedlake Street, near Kensal Road. He was later found safe, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.
Gold Commander praises carnival organisers
Commander Claire Smart, Gold Commander for Notting Hill Carnival, said the event management work carried out by Notting Hill Carnival Ltd had been significant. "The progress by Notting Hill Carnival Ltd in stepping into so many of the event management and crowd safety roles previously performed by the police cannot be understated," Smart said. "They have delivered a challenging event well and in doing so have allowed us to focus our resources on our core role of tackling crime."
Context: previous years
In 2025, the Metropolitan Police made 528 arrests across the two main days of the carnival, including 167 for drug offences, 50 for possession of an offensive weapon, 21 for sexual offences and four for violence with injury.
In 2024, eight stabbings occurred at the event, including the murder of 32-year-old mother Cher Maximen. The same number of stabbings was recorded the previous year, and seven took place in 2022, including one murder.
The annual west London carnival, which spans two main days over the August Bank Holiday weekend, is billed as Europe's largest street party. Photographer Mark Eave, 56, who lives in Ladbroke Grove, described the atmosphere as "mayhem" but said most attendees were present for the right reasons. "It sort of is what it is really. It's mayhem but I think most people are here for the right reasons," he said, adding that any event of this scale would inevitably see some pockets of trouble and anti-social behaviour.
Source: Daily Express