One of Britain’s most professional moped gangs has been jailed as police say that the scooter crime wave has halved since the 12 men were removed from the streets.

The gang, who between them have committed 400 offences, were sentenced for a series of high-profile raids including a "shocking" attempted robbery where they threatened to snatch a three-year-old from his mother.

Clad in black with their faces hidden by motorbike helmets, the gang carried out audacious heists using stolen vehicles with fake number plates, the court heard.

Their crime spree included blocking traffic to angle-grind a £180,000 BBC camera from a bridge, spraying a fire extinguisher into a police car as a distraction as they stole a motorbike and leading officers on a 90-minute high speed chase across 10 London boroughs.

Taking the gang off the streets has helped cut moped-enabled crime in the capital by 52pc in the space of a year, according to the Metropolitan Police.

The crackdown came after crimes using mopeds peaked at 2,592 in July 2017 and saw police turning to extreme tactics including using their cars to ram suspects off their bikes even if they are not wearing helmets.