Police camera footage shows the dramatic moment officers almost collided with a moped driver during a frantic chase after they were spotted trying to steal bikes.
Two “bandit bikes”, as described by the Met, were first encountered by police when they were seen both carrying a driver and pillion passenger in Kings Cross just after midnight on Thursday.
They refused to pull over but were then spotted by police helicopter NPAS using an angle grinder to try to steal motorbikes from a parking bay in Old Street.
Officers in the air directed a team on the ground to the location who then used road spikes to try and stop them in their tracks – forcing the bikes to split up.
One continued to evade officers, speeding at 80 miles per hour before it was stopped by police at a traveller’s site in Essex.
Two men, aged 22 and 24, were both arrested for failing to stop for police, aggravated taking and driving away, and attempted theft of motor vehicle.
Chief Inspector David Hay said: "This was an excellent example of collaborative working between officers on the ground and in the air, whose persistence successfully prevented motorbikes being stolen and led to the arrest of two criminals for a series of offences.
"Their reckless behaviour while attempting to escape from police could easily have led to serious injury to someone.
"Moped crime is a priority in the MPS and day in day out traffic officers from my command as well as other units across the Met are relentlessly pursuing offenders with the aim of bringing them to justice."
