Shocked neighbours heard the chilling screams of a mother after her 16-year-old boy was gunned down in a drive-by shooting outside their West Norwood home.

The victim, named locally as Omari, remains in a "critical" condition after being shot in the chest in a quiet cul-de-sac in West Norwood late on Tuesday night.

A neighbour said she heard his mother screaming for an ambulance, while other said they heard a car pull up before the shots were fired then sped away.

Karen Kaya, 56, who lives next door to his family, was in a friend's house across the road when she heard the shots.

The mum-of-five, who has lived on Unity Close for 25 years, said: "We heard three shots and thought it was fireworks at first.

"Then I heard his mum screaming for an ambulance."

She added: "He's a good lad, my kids get on with him.

"They help fix his pushbike from time to time. I've never heard of him in any trouble."

Karen said she wants to move away from the area because of the shooting.

She said: "It's terrible - I've been here 25 years and I want to leave.

"I've got my children to worry about."

Official figures show the number of shootings in London rose by 22 per cent over the last 12 months.

Lambeth, where the boy was shot on Tuesday night, has the highest number of shootings of any borough in the capital.

Another neighbour of the teenager's family said she was afraid to leave her house after she heard gunshots at about 10pm.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said: "I was about to go to sleep and I heard 'bang bang bang.' "I knew it wasn't fireworks. I went up to my bedroom to look out the window and saw his mum screaming for help.

"She was screaming 'Help me! Help me! My boy's been shot. They're trying to kill my boy.' "The police arrived within minutes.

"I didn't want to go outside because whoever did it could still be out there.

"I like to keep myself to myself around here.

"I only know the mum to say 'hello' to in the street."