Moped gangs armed with machetes terrorise public near Prince George´s new school

Moped gangs armed with machetes have been terrorising the public just yards from Prince George’s future primary school, with locals accusing police of failing to tackle the threat for several months.
Residents in Battersea, south west London, said they had seen men on bikes waving the weapons as they sped through pedestrianised areas near the £6,110-a-year day Thomas’s Battersea school, which the young royal is due to attend from September.
Several of the incidents were said to have taken place during broad daylight, with pictures and footage obtained by the Press Association showing the bikers threatening passers-by, and weaving in and out of tables at nearby restaurants.
“There are break-ins every night, residents are being terrorised every other day either by riding on pavements or at people,” said one local, who was too scared of repercussions to be identified.
“When police are called their response is ‘there’s nothing we can do’.”
CCTV footage gathered by business website LondonLovesBusiness.com shows one incident where thieves on a motorbike tried to kick a member of the public off their bicycle before breaking in to a car directly outside the school on Battersea High Street.
Witnesses said men on pushbikes later returned to the scene “to gloat”, pointing their fingers in a shooting gesture at members of the public who were waiting for police.
Police attended the aftermath of the incident in Battersea, on the evening of Tuesday May 2, but locals say this is just the latest in a crime spree committed on the doorstep of the school.
The riders, who are believed to live locally, regularly wear balaclavas and appear dressed all in black. The vehicle licence plates are often blacked out or ripped off, said residents, leading them to believe the vehicles themselves had been stolen.
Locals also reported regularly seeing motorcyclists mounting the kerb at Battersea Square and “weaving in and out of the tables and chairs” of bars and restaurants.
Passengers on the bikes have wielded machetes in an apparent attempt to intimidate members of the public on multiple occasions, said one local business owner.
“The police don’t chase them so it’s almost a licence to commit crime,” said another resident, who wanted to remain anonymous out of fear of being identified by the gang. They feel like they can get away with anything.”
Residents and workers in Battersea Square say they have reported the armed gangs to police on multiple occasions over recent months but no action has been taken.
The area is popular among locals for its bars and cafes and is nicknamed “nappy valley” for its number of local schools and young families.
A staff member at a local business said they had previously heard “what sounded like gunshots” in the street near the school, while another claimed they had seen people in balaclavas “shooting at a cash register or strong box”.
Inspector Guy Osborne, of the Battersea Safer Neighbourhoods Team, told the Press Association that Wandsworth Police are “very aware” of moped-enabled crime, and called the issue “a borough priority”.
Mr Osborne said incidents involving weapons had not been reported to the police.A spokesman for Wandsworth Council stressed the local authority’s investment in CCTV as a deterrent to crime, adding that the council “is working closely with the Met to tackle the growing problem of moped-related crime, which is a London-wide issue”.
Staff and officials at Thomas’s declined to comment on the moped incidents or on any security measures being put in place.