2017 : a year in the UK

[Anthea]

I bought mine online

I have been watching 'The Walking Dead' series since it started

I find it to be well written, if a little gruesome

It featured the rhyme "eeny meeny miny moe"

If I remember correctly, the rhyme used in the program was "eeny meeny miny moe, catch a tiger by the toe," as the lovable villain decided which people to batter to death

I am fed up with big brother sticking it's nose into everything - I am surprised they did not ban the (extremely violent and thoroughly enjoyable) episode, watched by MILLIONS of people worldwide

[Anthea]

Croydon fight: Three arrests after mass brawl breaks out 'involving up to 30 youths' in south-east London street

Three people have been arrested after a mass brawl broke out allegedly involving up to 30 youths in a south-east London street.

Police descended on the area in South Norwood, Croydon after the violence erupted on Wednesday afternoon.

Scotland Yard said officers were called to reports of a fight involving a large number of people shortly before 4pm in South Norwood Hill.

Witnesses said up to 30 teenagers, both male and female, were involved in the brawl near to a parade of shops at the junction of Wilkinson Gardens.

An unnamed witness told the Croydon Advertiser that when officers arrived at the scene, the group began “rocking and shaking” a police vehicle on the kerb.

The witness said that some of the youths “scattered away” when two other police cars and a van arrived.

Local Croydon borough officers attended the incident.

A Met Police spokesman said: “Three people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

“Officers remain on scene but no further incidents have been reported."

He added that there were no reports of any injuries.

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/cr ... 85066.html

A few days ago a youth was stabbed repeatedly a short distance away

[Anthea]

Panic in Islington as two knife-wielding men in car mow down three people outside a pub 'at 50mph' after mounting the pavement in London's cosmopolitan heartland - but police say it's NOT terror !?!

[list=]Shocked revellers on Essex road in Islington saw car mount the pavement
Driver smashed into three pedestrians before attempting to drive off
Police have arrested two men for GBH but insist incident is not terrorism [/list]

Two men and one woman were injured tonight at a busy London nightspot after a knife-wielding driver mounted the pavement and mowed them down as they fell 'like dominoes'.

Shocked revellers on the busy Essex road in Islington saw a car smash into pedestrians before the driver sped off then got out and fled on foot.

Police who found one knife on the pavement and one knife in the car have arrested two men on suspicion of GBH with intent and of possession of points and blades.

One shocked witness told MailOnline that a silver car came screeching around a corner at 'about 50mph' and crashed into people queuing to enter the the Old Queen's Head pub.

Dramatic pictures from the scene show three injured pedestrians being treated by paramedics.

One woman posted a picture of a knife on the pavement, writing on Twitter: 'It's all kicking off on Essex road, Islington… a handful of casualties and a very large knife.'

A witness said: 'People were screaming and shouting. One man told me that he saw the car drive off with a man still under the car.'

One woman who did not want to be named told how she was in the queue for the pub when the driver ploughed off the road and 'knocked people over like dominoes.'

She said: 'There were about twenty people in the queue and I was at the back with my friends.

'The car came screeching round the corner at about 50mph and was coming straight for me.

'I pushed over the barriers and fell to the floor as the car smashed into three girls infront of me. They were knocked over like dominoes.

'Everyone was screaming as the driver then drove off. It definitely looked deliberate and we all thought it was a terror attack.

'The bouncers then let everyone into the pub to keep us safe and police arrive almost immediately.

'The sight of the car was terrifying. I'm still in complete shock.'

Police insist the incident was not terror related.

Inquiries are ongoing to establish whether the collision at 10.55pm on Essex road was accidental or deliberate.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Police were called at approximately 10.55pm this evening following reports of a car in collision with a number of people Essex Road.

'Officers and London Ambulance Service attended the scene; initial reports state four people are suffering injuries - their condition awaits.

'The occupants decamped from the car and fled the scene on foot. Two males have been arrested and enquiries continue.

'While enquiries into the circumstances continue, this is not being treated as terrorist related.'

An Ambulance spokesman said: 'We were called at 11.01pm on Saturday 25 March to reports of a road traffic collision on Essex Road, N1.

'We sent a number of resources to the scene including three ambulance crews, an incident response officer and a paramedic in a car.

'We treated three patients at the scene and took them as priority to hospital.'

Dramatic pictures from the scene show police talking to witness as the road was closed off.

Link to Article - Photos - Video:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -them.html

[Anthea]

Army barracks are evacuated after a suspicious package was found in the grounds

Bomb disposal experts are on their way to the scene in Leeds
Cordon put in place outside Thornbury Barracks off the city's Bradford Road
Suspicious package was found in the grounds of the facility

An army barracks in Leeds has been put into lockdown after a 'suspicious package' was found in the grounds.

Bomb disposal experts are on their way to the scene off the city's Bradford Road.

A cordon has been put in place outside Thornbury Barracks with passengers travelling on buses nearby warned to expect delays.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: 'I can confirm an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team from Catterick has been called and they are on their way to investigate and assess the situation.'

The force added: 'Please note Bradford Rd is currently closed at Gain Ln & Woodhall Ln following a report of a suspicious package at Thornbury Barracks.

'Officers are on the scene and the public are asked to please avoid the area while enquiries are continuing.'

Link to Article - Photos:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ckage.html

[Anthea]

The jihadis free to roam Britain: Government faces calls to crackdown on homegrown extremists as it’s revealed only 54 have been prosecuted despite at least 400 returning to the UK from Syria

Estimated that 400 home-grown jihadis have returned after fighting in Syria
Out of the people who have come home, only 54 of them have been prosecuted
Terrorism expert said the attack shows the damage a lone attacker can inflict

The Government last night faced new demands to crack down on jihadis returning from Syria in the wake of the Westminster attack.

Although there is no suggestion that British-born Muslim convert Khalid Masood travelled to Syria to fight for Islamic State, thousands of home-grown jihadis have – and an estimated 400 have returned to UK.

With IS rapidly losing ground in Syria and Iraq, the number of British returnees is likely to swell further, raising the question of what should be done about them.

Of the 400 who have come back, figures released last year showed only 54 individuals had been prosecuted. A further 30 faced charges.

A Mail on Sunday investigation discovered a number of returned jihadis roaming free on the streets of Britain.

One solution is wider use of Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIMs), which involve electronic tagging and can include restrictions on movement, financial activity and communication.

Currently, there are only seven in operation.

Terrorism expert Professor Anthony Glees said last week’s attack demonstrated all too clearly the scale of threat which a lone man can pose, let alone hundreds.

Prof Glees, director of the Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies at the University of Buckingham, said: ‘These people need to be taken seriously.

While internment wouldn’t be acceptable, we need to use more TPIMs.’

Among the cases, The Mail on Sunday has highlighted:

Maarg Kahsay, from North London, spent months in Syria in 2014, after having fled a rape trial while on bail. He returned and was acquitted of the rape charge, but has never been charged with going to Syria. His name was on IS files obtained by the MoS.

Gianluca Tomaselli, 27, joined an IS sub-group called Rayat Al Tawhid, led by British jihadis in Syria. He fled there in 2013, and returned two years later. By 2016, he wasfound to be working as a car park attendant at Whipps Cross Hospital in East London.

Waheed Ahmed, 22, a Labour councillor’s son, was arrested with nine family members in Turkey, heading for Syria. The family returned and no one was charged.

Abu Rayah, 35, from East London, led a poppy burning stunt during an Armistice Day event in 2010. He was known to MI5 as an extremist, but went to Syria to fight alongside IS. After he returned from Syria, he was allowed to leave the UK twice and go to Europe.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... Syria.html

[Anthea]

Croydon asylum boy assault: Up to 20 people watched attack

A group of up to 20 people looked on as a gang punched and kicked a teenage asylum seeker at a bus stop in south London, neighbours have said.

Six people have been arrested on suspicion of the attempted murder of the Kurdish Iranian victim following Friday's attack in Shrublands Avenue, Croydon.

Those involved in the attack have been labelled "scum" by the local MP.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also condemned the attack.

One resident of Shrublands Avenue said: "There was a massive group coming up from The Goat pub.

"You couldn't see who was hitting who. There was one person, the one who ended up in hospital, he was getting absolutely beaten up.

"There was a group of roughly 10 people kicking and punching him and the rest, another 10 or 20, were all just around watching."

"People that were there, witnesses, because they couldn't do anything against a group of 30 people, they had to wait until they moved off and that's when they managed to help him.

"That's eventually when the ambulance and police (arrived), and that was it."

The victim was waiting with two friends at the bus stop when he was set upon at about 23:40 BST.

It is believed the attackers asked him where he was from before they chased him down the road and repeatedly kicked him as he lay on the ground.

His friends suffered minor injuries in the attack, but the teenager is reported to have sustained a fractured skull and a blood clot on his brain.

He was taken to a south London hospital where he remains in a "serious but stable" condition.

Officers are in the process of informing next of kin.
.....................................................................................................................................

By Simon Jones, BBC News correspondent

As high-visibility police patrols in the area continue, residents in this diverse community have been trying to make sense of what happened.

The police tape around the bus stop has been taken down, transport is running normally again.

But as people sat waiting for buses, the attack was the only topic of conversation.

Many were keen to tell me what happened was not typical of the area, describing it as a place where people do get along.

A few though say it's left them feeling scared, particularly as more details have been released by the police about what happened.

The local MP, on his visit to talk to the numerous TV cameras, took time to speak to one of the community leaders, so they could share their sense of shock.

One resident has responded by spraying graffiti near the numerous flats on Shrublands Avenue that reads simply: "Refugees Welcome".
.....................................................................................................................................

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said:

There would always be a "zero-tolerance approach" to hate crimes of any type.

"Hate crime has no place in London, Britain or anywhere else," he said.

The Refugee Council said it was "disgusted" by the assault.

Director of advocacy, Dr Lisa Doyle, said: "We hope the perpetrators of this appalling attack are swiftly brought to justice and we wish the victim a full and speedy recovery."

Kana Varathan, who lives near the scene of the attack, said he heard the screams of the victim.

He said: "Normally, Friday night, they are always making noise, then it sounded really funny.

"Then, looking to the window, the group of people [were] beating one person."

Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell used Twitter to appeal to anyone with information "about the scum" responsible for the attack to contact the police.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-39470487

[Anthea]

Croydon's Kurdish community in shock after attack on Reker Ahmed

Friends struggle to understand how the ‘quiet boy who stayed out of trouble’ came to be assaulted

Although he only recently arrived in the UK in the hope of finding sanctuary, the Kurdish-Iranian teenage asylum-seeker who was allegedly beaten up by up to 30 people outside a Croydon pub on Friday night has become a familiar face in the area, which is home to a bustling Kurdish community.

West Croydon is thousands of miles from 17-year-old Reker Ahmed’s real home. But his friends say that this is where he has whiled away his afternoons after college since arriving in the UK, sometimes having tea or playing dominoes at the Middle East Shisha, a traditional tea house off London Road. Here, the community is in shock over the suspected hate crime that left Reker with a fractured skull and a blood clot on the brain.

On Monday, Reker was moved from intensive care to a mainstream ward after the medical team deemed his situation to be no longer life-threatening. In the words of DCI Jane Corrigan, he was “very lucky not to have lost his life”. His friends said they were unable to visit him at the nearby Croydon University hospital as he was still being guarded by the police.

“He used to play dominoes here,” said Mohammad, who had seen Reker in the tea house many times. “He was polite and wasn’t racist. He was happy he was living here, he was trying to learn English.”

Farhad, a friend, said Reker would then normally take the 198 bus towards Shrublands, where he lives with a legal guardian. Since Reker arrived unaccompanied in the UK, he was placed in the care of a foster parent and was allowed to attend college.

It is unclear if his request for asylum has been approved or whether he was only given temporary protection because he is still under 18. Applicants whose cases have been rejected will be allowed to attend college and stay with a family only until they become an adult, when they might face deportation.

Reker was accompanied by two friends, Dilshad Mohammed and Hamo Mustafa, at the bus stop outside the Goat pub, the nearest stop to his legal guardian’s, where he was attacked. Dilshad and Hamo managed to escape.

Five people appeared in court on Monday accused of violent disorder in connection with Reker’s case. Daryl Davis, 20, Danyelle Davis, 24, Barry Potts, 20, George Walder, 20, and Jack Walder, 24, were charged after being accused of violent disorder. George Walder was additionally charged with racially aggravated grievous bodily harm. All five defendants are from Croydon. Two more people were charged on Monday evening and will appear in court on Tuesday. A total of 16 arrests have now been made in the investigation.

Farhad said he was struggling to understand how his friend, “a quiet boy who stayed out of trouble”, came to be assaulted. “We never saw him fighting,” he said.

According to Farhad, Reker and his friends had decided to return to West Croydon for a Friday night out. “They go to college, when they finish, they would come here, they would have tea, smoke shisha, play dominoes,” Farhad said.

Others in London Road echoed Farhad in portraying Reker as a quiet and calm person. “I’ve seen him. He is a new guy here and has not been here for a long time,” said a worker at the Bakhan restaurant, a well-known hub for the area’s Kurdish community.

Poshtivan Rahim, a 36-year-old resident of Croydon, was also familiar with him. “I have seen him at least two or three times,” he said. “He had just come to the UK, it’s not even been a year, I believe. He was quiet, he used to take a stroll in this area and have tea.”

Jwamer said he had seen him in the local barber’s shop. “I know him. He was quiet. He didn’t have any problem with anyone. He used to come here to cut his hair.”

Although details of Reker’s asylum application has not been made public, Croydon is the place where all asylum applications are first processed. Every morning, new asylum-seekers from across the country come to 40 Wellesley Road, Croydon, to queue outside the main gate of Lunar House, the Home Office’s immigration screening centre, to present their applications.

Applicants, like Reker, would then be screened for an initial brief interview before their biometrics are taken and they are issued with an ID card. Most applicants will then have their cases processed for further examination in other cities but some may stay longer in Croydon.

Many Iranian Kurds complain about discrimination in their access to employment, political activities or cultural and political rights.

For those Kurdish asylum-seekers who do stay in the area, the attack has touched a nerve. Rebaz Mohammad, director of a Kurdish translation service based in London Road, West Croydon, could not recall meeting Reker. But he said the news resonated all the same.

“We need the Kurdish community to come forward, he is related to us by blood, we will take this seriously, we want prosecution [for the perpetrators],” he said. “We want to approach the police to see why this happened and we want to assist the police, we don’t want revenge to become a culture in this area.”

Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the local Kurdish cultural centre, echoes those concerns. “I have fears for the community,” he said. “I fear that some Kurdish members of the community might get hurt [by the Friday attack] and want to show a negative reaction. I fear revenge.”

For Reker, the future may be uncertain: strict rules put in place by the Home Office mean that asylum-seekers can spend months or years barred from working while their applications are processed. Farhad said he had spent 11 years in the UK as an asylum-seeker and was still not allowed to work. He said he had been subjected to numerous hate crimes, particularly in the initial years when he was still unable to speak English properly.

“I have faced hate attacks all the time. Every time, they’ve been shouting, swearing, they look at us and if you don’t speak English [it could get worse],” he said. “Numerous times, they have shouted at me ‘go back to your country you fucking foreigner’. I have been here 11 years and I say half of it I have heard these things.

If we could have a good life in our country, we wouldn’t come here

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... are_btn_tw

[Anthea]

Tornado locomotive hits 100mph on mainline rail network

A steam train has reached 100mph on Britain's mainline rail network for the first time in 50 years.

The Peppercorn class A1 steam locomotive Tornado clocked the speed during a test run on the East Coast Main Line between Doncaster and Newcastle early on Wednesday morning.

The trip was part of a bid to raise Tornado's speed limit for passenger trips from 75mph to 90mph by the end of the year.

Tornado was the first steam locomotive to be built in the UK for almost half a century when it was completed in Darlington in 2008.

Thousands of people turned out to watch the locomotive when it operated regular services on the Settle to Carlisle line for three days in February.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-yo ... e-39581712

[Anthea]

Gun crime in London increases by 42%

Gun crime offences in London surged by 42% in the last year, according to official statistics.

The Met Police's figures showed there were 2,544 gun crime offences from April 2016 to April 2017 compared to 1,793 offences from 2015 until 2016.

Knife crime also increased by 24% with 12,074 recorded offences from 2016 to 2017.

The Met said although crime rates were rising they remained at a much lower level than five years ago.

Scotland Yard registered annual rises across a number of serious offence categories in the past 12 months, following several years of falls.

The total number of offences during the 2016 to 2017 financial year was 774,737, an increase of 4% from the previous year when total offences stood at 740,933.

Knife crime offences that resulted in an injury also increased, by 21% to 4,415 from 2016 to 2017, compared to 3,663 offences the year before.

The force said robbery offences, which increased 12% year-on-year, were at about half the level of 2006-2007 and there were 58 fewer homicides this year compared to 10 years ago.

Martin Hewitt, assistant commissioner responsible for territorial policing, said: "Similar to the rest of England and Wales, crime rates in London are rising, but many of these are still at a much lower level than five years ago and are against the backdrop of significant reductions in resources.

"Whilst we continue to focus on reducing stabbings by taking weapons and dangerous offenders off the streets, prevention and diversion from knife crime is key.

"There are complex social reasons why more young people are carrying knives and this cannot be solved by the police alone, we must work with communities to help combat knife crime."

Drug offences fell by 9%, from 41,164 to 37,374. Burglary offences also fell slightly, from 69,703 to 69,501.

Sophie Linden, London's deputy mayor for policing, said: "These figures are deeply disturbing, and a stark reminder of the enormous pressure our police are under every day as they work so tirelessly to protect us."

A report from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary said it was satisfied with the Met's overall performance, but warned there were areas of "serious concern" about its effectiveness that needed to be addressed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-39578500

[Anthea]

Hackney nightclub 'acid attack' leaves at least 12 injured

At least 12 people suffered burns during a suspected acid attack at a club in east London.

Hundreds of revellers were evacuated from Mangle E8 in Sidworth Street, Dalston, after police were called at about 01:10 BST.

London Fire Brigade said a "strong acidic" unknown corrosive substance was thrown inside the venue.

Police said 10 of those affected were taken to hospital by ambulance, while a further two sought treatment at A&E.

Their injuries are non life-threatening.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "The only information that we have is that it was an unknown corrosive substance thrown within the nightclub.

"It was identified by a PH paper test as a strong acidic substance."

It is understood about 600 people had been attending an event at the nightclub before it was evacuated.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said the 10 people were treated for minor burns at the scene before being taken to hospital.

No arrests have been made and officers are continuing to investigate, he added.

Witness Phie McKenzie tweeted: "Scary scenes tonight, we have heard reports of chemical burns of people in the building here".

London Ambulance Service said it sent a number of ambulance crews and a hazardous area response team to the venue.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-39618490

This attack might well have been designed to cause wide-scale panic which would have lead to serious injuries and even death

I expect it was due to well trained staff that such panic did not occur and all 600 people managed to evacuate the premises safely

[Piling]

Happy saint George for all UK !

[Anthea]

Happy saint George for all UK !

It has been a lovely

Some places in the UK had to cancel their celebrations because they did not have any ant-terrorist attack plans in place

[Anthea]

Armed police swooped on terror suspect as he headed
for Downing Street with bag packed with knives

Paul Morris, 29, who works in Westminster, said: “As I came out of the subway on the Downing Street side of Whitehall there was shouting. You could hear the police yell at the man to ‘get down’.



The ‘lone wolf’ suspect had been under close surveillance when counter-terrorism officers ordered his immediate detention as he came within 300 yards of the gates of the Prime Minister’s residence.

“Officers with guns quickly herded people down the stairs into the underground station for safety. One man who came back down looked as white as a ghost, he was so shaken.

“There were armed police everywhere and crowds of tourists.”

A builder working on the road nearby said: “I saw the police officers catch him. They caught him and got him on the ground.”

A French tourist, who was in New York on 9/11 and was visiting London with her daughter, saw the arrest happen.

The witness, who declined to be named, said: “He [the suspect] was very calm. I think they got him on the ground, then they stood him up against the wall.

“I was in New York on September 11, so I am a bit scared of these things and being in the wrong place at the wrong moment.”

Westminster was already on a heightened state of alert following the terrorist atrocity committed by Masood, also known as Adrian Ajao, on March 22.

Full Article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04 ... treet-bag/

[Anthea]

Armed police shoot woman 20s and arrest 4 in anti-terror raids as five shots fired

Heavily armed police stormed a north London house in an anti-terror raid today

Five shots could be heard ringing out on Harlesden Road, Willesden, before 7pm

A woman in her 20s was shot by police and was taken to hospital

Four people have now been arrested and are currently in custody

Dramatic video footage has showed the moment heavily armed police swooped on a north London house in an anti-terror raid today.

Armed police could be seen approaching the terraced house in Willesden, north London, before pointing their guns towards the windows.

Five shots could be heard ringing out on the quiet London street just before 7pm this evening.

A woman in her 20s was shot by police and taken to hospital, where she remains under police guard.

Due to her condition she has not yet been arrested.

Four people have now been arrested and are currently in custody at a south London Police station.

The first, a 20-year-old man was arrested near the address in Harlesden Road.

A male, 16, and woman, 20, were arrested at the address. A 43-year-old woman was arrested in Kent a short while later.

All four have been arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of terrorist acts under Section 41 of the terrorism act 2000.

They had been under observation by counter terrorism officers as part of an ongoing intelligence led operation.

Searches at the address are continuing, as well as further searches at linked addresses across London.

This incident is not connected to the arrest in Whitehall earlier today, the Met Police said.

Link to Full Article - Photos:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -raid.html

[Anthea]

London's Wild West End: Marauding moped muggers brandishing hammers and crowbars terrify London shoppers just yards from BBC HQ's

Thieves circled victims outside the BBC Broadcasting House off Oxford Street

Photographs showed the criminals waving a hammer and crowbar at people

An iPhone was snatched from the hands of a woman in her 40s on pavement

Police desperate to catch smash and grab muggers who hunt in packs of two

Hard-core of around 200 people responsible for the vast majority of crimes

This is the shocking moment weapon-wielding moped raiders brought terror to the heart of London.

Clutching a hammer and crowbar, marauding thieves circle for victims outside the BBC’s landmark headquarters, just off Oxford Street.

The four thieves roared around the West End, waving their weapons to deter any have-a-go heroes from trying to tackle them.

But this is by no means an isolated incident, with dozens of similar crimes unfolding in the capital in recent years by a core group of around 200 offenders.





On this occasion, at least one iPhone was stolen from a woman in her 40s when it was snatched out of her hand as she waited to cross the road.

Police are desperate to catch the menacing thugs who use stolen mopeds to mug pedestrians and smash and grab valuable goods from trendy shops.

Photographer Alex Lentati said he was almost knocked over by one of the mopeds when it mounted the pavement.

‘At first I thought it was just bad driving, but then he mounted the pavement and started coming at me at fairly high speed,’ he told the Evening Standard.

‘I’d just come off the phone and was putting it in my pocket. As the bike got closer it rode at me on the pavement, then whizzed past me on the inside next to the wall.

‘The audacity of it was that another one turned up and then they went round the block and came back again tearing down Great Portland Street.

‘When they came round the second time one of them brandished the hammer, like they didn’t want anyone to chase them or get close. It felt very brazen.’

The BBC has sent internal memos to staff warning them to be vigilant for moped gangs and to keep their valuables out of sight.

Radio 4 reporter Andrew Bomford said he saw the thieves almost crash into a man as they targeted him on a pedestrian crossing.

He said: ‘They almost clipped him as they were going past. He threw his hands up in the air and started running after them. They turned up the street towards the BBC.

‘The guy that had been almost hit was chasing after them, and they came past me. Someone on the second bike was waving a hammer in his hand.

‘It seemed to me like it was a warning to not try and follow them or grab them, or he would hit you. It’s completely brazen, and it’s happening all the time, and it’s the same thing each time.’

Police are desperate to catch the menacing thugs who use stolen mopeds to mug pedestrians and smash and grab valuable goods from trendy shops.

The culprits, dubbed ‘pavement pirates’ because of their disregard for the law, are responsible for a worrying crime wave.

Investigators suspect many are controlled by Fagin-style masterminds who arrange for the mopeds to be stolen and stored before selling on the spoils.

They are responsible for a crime wave in which offences involving mopeds has risen seven-fold in two years, from 1,053 in 2014 to 7,668 last year.

In Islington alone, the worst hit borough, more than 300 phones were being snatched every month at the height of the crime wave.

Some victims have been told by frontline officers that they are reluctant to chase suspects on two-wheels after the tragic death of a teenager three years ago.

They are also difficult to identify as they wear helmets, masks and gloves to beat CCTV cameras and avoid leaving forensic traces.

But a determined crackdown, in which Scotland Yard launched a dedicated unit to identify those responsible has led to a series of high-profile convictions.

They believe there is a hard-core of around 200 people who are responsible for the vast majority of crimes.

In recent years hundreds of terrifying attacks have taken place across the capital.

A Freedom of Information request revealed there were 1,240 crimes in London involving suspects on mopeds or motorbikes in 2014.

Previously the Met Police has been accused of 'going soft' on moped gangs, due to a law change which prevents the offenders from being chased.

In February last year, shocking CCTV footage emerged showing thieves on a moped stealing phones from two people in quick succession.

Security cameras outside live music venue, The Piano Works on Farringdon Road, London filmed the alarming thefts drive past a couple on their phones, before snatching the items out of their owners' hands.

In September a young woman was mowed down by two thugs on a moped after ignoring their catcalls.

Pagan Lilley Motlagh-Phillips, 19, from Newham in east London, was on her way back from a shopping trip with her brother when she was targeted.

The teen was travelling through Havering, after visiting Lakeside Shopping Centre in Essex, when a man allegedly shouted over to her, 'are you alright, darling?'

In a terrifying assault he then revved up his moped and drove at Pagan and her brother, knocking her to the ground and leaving her unconscious.

She was rushed to Lakeside Shopping Centre's hospital where she received treatment for injuries.

She slammed the Met Police for their handling of the case, and said they were not taking it seriously.

In one case a moped muggers was caught red-handed after being tracked by helicopter as he tried to escape by riding the wrong way up the M11.

Chief Superintendent Peter Ayling, head of policing in Westminster, said: ‘We are working hard to keep the public safe.

‘We have been made aware of this serious incident and it is a top priority to identify and arrest these reckless offenders.’

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... oners.html