Members of a moped gang who filmed each other pushing cyclists off their bicycles have been branded 'petty thugs' by a pro-cycling campaigner.

Videos showing men riding their mopeds alongside cyclists before knocking them over in London have been posted to Instagram.

One video, filmed in Sutton, southwest London, shows a cyclist in a reflective jacket falling over his handlebars before landing heavily in to a brick wall.

Another shows the bikers riding in convoy before panning out as one rider pulls alongside a cyclist near a set of traffic lights, The Times reported.

The biker kicks the bicycle and sends the cyclist crashing in to the road - putting his life in danger

A cyclist is sent crashing to the ground when a moped driver kicks the side of his bicycle while he rides down a well-lit road

The biker kicks the bicycle and sends the cyclist crashing in to the road - putting his life in danger.

Sam Jones, a senior campaign officer for Cycling UK, called the act a 'sick joke' that 'glamorised petty thuggery'.

Posts to Instagram shows members of the moped gang posing with stolen motorbikes with captions including: 'We be working while you're sleeping'.

One cyclist's head hits heavily in to the ground when the moped rider pushes him from his bike

Paul Farrely, a Conservative MP and a member of the digital, culture, media and sport select committee said the videos were 'utterly wrong' and should not be on social media.

It comes after moped crime in London more than halved from 20,973 between June 2017 and July 2018 to 9,723 up to June 2019.

Police began using their cars to stop suspected criminals in November 2018, after the number of thieves using scooters to target pedestrians rose dramatically.

Chief Inspector Jim Corbett, from Operation Venice, which tackles moped and motorcycle crime, said: 'The reduction in mopeds and motorcycles being used in crime is great to see, but we recognise we are not out of the woods.

'Although we have seen reductions, we need to continue to work together with our partners and the public to reduce crime further and we are asking for the public to follow our Lock, Chain, Cover advice.'

Facebook, which owns Instagram, says an investigation in to the accounts has been opened.