More than 60 moped crimes a day reported in London

More than 60 crimes using mopeds or motorbikes were carried out every day in London on average over the past year - a 50% increase on the previous 12 months.

The figures come after a wave of robberies across the capital, with comedian Michael McIntrye held up by hammer-wielding moped robbers on Monday.

A 24-year-old woman was left in a critical condition after two men on a moped punched her and stole her phone the same day.

Tony Arbour, a Conservative member of the London Assembly, obtained figures that showed Met Police had received 22,025 reports where the offender was on a scooter, moped or motorbike in the year leading up to May 2018.

There was a sharp increase in summer 2017, including a peak of 2,592 in July, with monthly figures falling to 1,238 in March 2018.

Many of the scooters and motorbikes used in the crimes are stolen specifically for the purpose.

Met Police released their own end of year crime statistics in April.

They showed total robberies were up 35.81%, with the force saying: "Some of the increase in robbery and theft is attributable to scooter-related crime."

It said it was putting a "huge amount of effort" into fighting the problem.

"In October, new tactics such as DNA spray, light-weight police motorcycles, and remote control tyre deflation devices were introduced," the Met said.

"As a result, reductions in scooter-related crimes are being experienced."

The crime figures also showed there was a 5.26% increase in "violence against the person" cases in London.

Violent crime is rising across the country, with knife attacks up 22% in 2017 and robberies up 33%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

A senior police source told The Times that moped crimes attract publicity that could be generating "fashionable" copycat crimes.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by Mr Arbour also showed that Met Police issued charges, cautions or other proceedings in just 10.6% of robbery cases involving a knife in 2017.

The figure was 22.7% in 2017, 32% in 2016, and 26% in 2015.

Sophie Linden, who speaks on policing on behalf of Mayor of London Sadiq Kahn, said that falling detection rates were due to a higher volume of crime.