A man has been sentenced to two years in jail after being found guilty of a string of moped crimes.

Paul John Walsh, from Camden, was jailed at Blackfriars Crown Court on August 23 after pleading guilty to four counts of receiving stolen goods, one count of theft by finding letters and parcels, attempted theft of a motor vehicle, and possession of cannabis.

At around 5.30pm on May 4, whilst a postman was delivering mail, a white moped with two people was seen to drive off with the post trolley.

The trolley and some mail was recovered at the rear of Budgens on Haverstock Hill and four packages were stolen.

Half an hour later two suspects on a white moped were caught on CCTV outside the Stag public house on Fleet Road, Belsize Park.

They were caught interfering with a white Piaggio moped.

Speaking after the Belsize Park incident, one eyewitness, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “We just thought, ‘What the hell is going on?’ This was going on in broad daylight.

“It just seems like an epidemic. We’ve been aware of the menace of moped thefts. You get kids doing stuff and guys robbing houses, but this seems like an escalation.”

Officers arrested Walsh, 28, in June after finding him hiding on the roof of his home in Holmes Road.

Walsh was disqualified from driving for two years.