Ten people were arrested across south London as police spent a day combating bike thefts – which cost the capital’s residents over £10 million a year.

The London-wide operation was heralded a success by officers as they nabbed suspects in Bromley, Bexley, Lewisham, Greenwich, and beyond. 

It came as an ongoing drive by the Met, City of London Police (CoLP), British Transport Police (BTP), and Transport for London (TfL) to cut down on two-wheeled crime.

Safer Transport Command’s chief superintendent Sultan Taylor said: "Bike theft has a huge impact on Londoners, costing over £10m per year and the activity has seen some excellent results helping to crackdown on cycle theft even further.

“We continue to work with TfL and other police agencies to ensure the best chances of bringing offenders to justice, restoring stolen bikes to their rightful owners and prevent anybody buying stolen property."

Following the operation, which took place last Wednesday (May 14), police are continuing to offer advice to owners and carry out spot checks at likely criminal spots.

London’s mayor Boris Johnson often mentions his desire to get more people riding and TfL’s Siwan Hayward added tackling cycle thefts is and important supportive measure.

Latest MPS crime figures show a fall last year of around nine per cent.