Two teenagers charged with murders of 16-year-old friends in London

Two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, have been charged with the murders of two 16-year-olds just a mile apart in south-east London, the Metropolitan Police said.

The teenage boys will appear at Bromley Magistrates' Court on Friday charged with the murders of Charlie Bartolo and Kearne Solanke last month.

Kearne Solanke was stabbed in Titmuss Avenue, Thamesmead, and Charlie Bartolo was found with stab wounds in Sewell Road, Abbey Wood, on Saturday November 26.

Police said they were called at around 5.10pm on Saturday last week to reports that two people had been injured at separate locations.

When they arrived they found the teenagers with fatal stab wounds and both boys were pronounced dead at the scene.

On Sunday night, there was a steady stream of mourners at both locations, with locals confirming that the boys were friends.

One woman who left flowers at the spot where Kearne died said they were both “good kids” who were “loved by so many people”.

She said: “They had the same hobbies, they would go on their bikes and that was the main thing they really did.

“They were just beginning their lives and came from really big families. There are a lot of people who are heartbroken.

“Charlie was playing with his baby nephew just a few hours before it happened. It doesn’t make sense. They were both first-born sons and were loved by their mothers.”