Camden Council this week said it could install hefty steel barriers across the borough to stop moped riders speeding down alleyways to escape police – a year after cops requested them.

The chicanes, which are meant to stop mopeds but still let pedestrians through, were requested by police across the borough last year at the height of the vehicle crime epidemic.

Although moped crime in Camden and Islington was down 86 per cent last month compared with June 2017, the authorities continue to pursue ways of making life harder for the scooter menaces.

Hampstead Safer Neighbourhoods Panel chair Susan West told the Ham&High: “Installing these sort of barriers would be a great idea.

“I know the police have reduced instances of moped crime over the last few months, by being more proactive and willing to chase and engage moped thieves when they try to escape, and I think these barriers could help that effort if they are installed.”

A spokesman for West Hampstead’s neighbourhood policing team explained: “A request was sent to the council at the height of the moped-enabled snatches around four alleyways in West Hampstead.

“Fortunately moped snatches here have reduced significantly even without the installation of the barriers, but we will still push for their installation to reduce or stop moped-enabled criminals using alleyways as an escape route and as an aid to apprehend them.”

A Camden Council spokesman told the Ham&High: “The council are currently investigating a number of sites, including Fortune Green, where it may be useful to install appropriate measures, such as barriers.

“We are working with businesses and residents to understand if this is feasible.”

He added: “As well as aiding the Metropolitan Police with identifying offenders, we have been actively employing our own measures such as the installation of ground anchors to motorcycle bays to reduce theft, reporting suspicious activity and stolen mopeds, and installing temporary infrastructure where moped crime is a particular issue.”

Barriers would help continue the remarkable progress the authorities appear to have made tackling moped crime over the last 12 months.

Insp Richard Berns, who heads up Camden’s neighbourhood policing teams, said in June last year there had been 1,301 moped-enabled offences in Camden and Islington combined, but that this June that figure was 184.